Tuesday, 12 February 2013

The 1980s! Bring it back! At least, the more memorable things anyway that helped to define this era. Growing up in Rexdale, I grew up in what was known to people as myself as "The Crack era" which hit Toronto and the rest of the Eastern & Western seaboards. But, having grown up in a messy environment with the violence, drugs and crime, what I remember so vividly and ever so fondly, is the positive things of The 80s. Here, I will touch on what stood out for me and many others growing up in that time period.

Okay, so to be honest, this is one of greatest things, that I remember about the 80s. I have heard people say that the best time period in music was the 80s. I have also, heard people say that it was the worst period. But, I will say, that most people enjoyed the music more because it was innocent sounding, even decade defining. When you hear a song from that time period, you knew right away that it was done in the 1980s. Right now, I offer some of my favorite 1980s songs. The songs above & the songs below are some of my favorite songs ever:

So, there you have it. Some of my all-time favorite 80s tunes. Now, let's go on a trip and check out the:

I hope that everyone enjoyed last night's post as it pertained to 80s music. So, today I am going to talk about the 1980s movies. I think the decade produced some classic legendary movies. Here, I will present a number of my favorite movies from the 1980s. I hope that you enjoy what I jog your memories over. Have a look:

I chose this Rocky, because it was my favorite of the Rocky movies released that decade and spawned a classic 1980s tune. Below is the movie trailer as well:

Last but not least:

There you have it. The 1980s produced some classic movies, a lot of which are my all-time favorites. You can check for my previous posts on my favorite Horror movies & Ninja movies in which they were produced & released in the 80s. I hope that you enjoyed my look back at the greatest decade's movies. Okay now, I will be touching base on a personal favorite time period of mine in the 80s:

Hello everyone!, well here we go, it's a business that has been apart of my life from the time that I was a little guy to now: The Wrestling business. Now, the 80s was called "The Golden Age Of Wrestling" or "The Boom Of Professional Wrestling".

Whatever you call it, for me it was the back drop of my childhood in the 80s. Here, I will be providing, the moments that stood out for me from Wrestling that I remember the most. So here we go!:

Growing up in Toronto, I was privy to all the Wrestling territories of the 80s. Whether, I was living in Toronto most of the 80s or living in Trinidad for most of 87', I was getting it either on TV, Rental or Trade tapes.

I was fascinated by the other various companies that surrounded WWF {nka WWE}. Now, keep in mind, that the boom of the Wrestling business was in large part because of one company: WWF.

But, I was always fascinated by how different The NWA was in comparison to WWF and how exciting they were.

I was caught up in the fact that in 1987 when I was living in Trinidad how well known The NWA & how recognizable, then NWA World Champion "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair was.

"Victor Jovica was a huge star in Trinidad, where he had two big matches with Ric Flair for the NWA title ending in RIOTS.."

So anyway, I remember, hearing around the end of March of that year over my step father's mechanic shop radio blaring into the sky of Trinidad's busy airwaves, the enormous crowd that had descended upon The Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan just outside of Detroit for WWF Wrestlemania III.

I remember hearing in that news report {for some reason, I remember hearing either Rick Dees or Dick Clark on there show, talking about this happening of an event}then WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeating the undefeated Andre The Giant in The Main Event.

I had heard also, the incredible show stealer match that if I remember correctly, I actually saw this match first before seeing the whole event. I could be wrong, but that show stealer was, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat defeating "The Macho Man" Randy Savage for The WWF Intercontinental Belt. I remembered the build up from late 86' when Savage dropped the ring bell into "The Dragon"'s throat & him being carried out on a stretcher and watched what was happening with that hot program after moving to Trinidad.

Lastly, what I remember about those few minutes and listening to that radio chat about Mania III, was hearing that "Hot Rod" Rowdy Roddy Piper was successful in his retirement match defeating "Adorable" Adrian Adonis with help from Brutus Beefcake!!!???

From there, I had to get a hold of that tape of the event. In Trinidad, you can get things as it happens back then {it's like that now, since Trinidad is pretty much up to speed on technology and resources}. My Uncle Bob was a huge Wrestling fan like me so he was bringing me the lead up to Mania & all the NWA stuff including when Flair & Barry Windham wrestled on TV for an hour for The NWA World Title.

Manny Fernandez & Rick Rude as NWA World Tag Team Champions feuding with former champs, The Rock N' Roll Express.

I remember seeing Wrestling in Trinidad on my Aunt's TV {we stayed with her until we could get a foot hold on our own life in Trinidad, we were suppose to live there forever}and watching NWA & WWF TV programming. Going to hang out with my little cousins at our grandparents house, watching WWC & NWA programming. When I returned from Trinidad, I resumed my Wrestling programming and starting catching up on the Wrestlemania events until that point & started watching here in Toronto on TSN: Pro Wrestling Plus with host Ed Whalen.

So, I got all the major companies which included also, WCCW, Memphis Wrestling, Mid-South/UWF, AWA, Florida Wrestling, Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, IWA Montreal {which I was watching I remember very vividly in 1986 before going to Trinidad to live}, I got to see some of the Japanese Wrestling companies from various means as well including New Japan Pro Wrestling & All-Japan Pro Wrestling with some Mexican Wrestling thrown in there too. I was privy to even more Wrestling when I returned thanks to Pro Wrestling Plus & Ed Whalen with one of his famous catch praises: "A Ring-A-Ding-Dong-Dandy!". I had my Wrestling figures that I had before I left Canada to come to Trinidad. So I would cherish those things like they were my life. Speaking of which, that leads me to one of my fond memories of Wrestling in the 80s:

WWF LJN Wrestling Action Figures. You were not a Wrestling fan if you didn't have a few of these in your Toy collection. I had a few from the mid 80s up until a few years ago when I started selling them off. I also had The WWF Wrestling Ring & The WWF Steel Cage.

These were so well done for it's time and what added to them were the fact that they came with a little mini poster and a clip out card placed on the back of the full back card. The front of the full back card was cool to see as well, as it was made up to place the figure in a arena background. I was fortunate to also get some of the later ones from the late 80s as well.

The big thing for me was saving up and getting The WWF LJN Tag Team Sets, which was like Christmas for me, as you obviously would get two figures, championship belts, poster, clip out card. Here are a few of my favorite teams that I actually owned personally. The first three, I owned as a matter of fact:

While I had my figures collection growing {through various means}, I was also collecting The WWF Bendies as well. My very first one was "Macho Man".

I was also collecting WWF Thumb Wrestlers as well. Man, I had a ball with all these action figures. In later years, I was still collecting action figures, but it wasn't the same, and eventually up until the last couple of years, I was ridding myself of everything with the exception of two action figures in mint condition that I kept. When I was a bit older in the early 90s, I was making up my own Wrestling events and booking my own matches. I not just had a ball, I had a blast!

WWF produced some great action figures such as the Stretch figures & The Value Pack figures, take a look:

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Next up, what I remember about 80s Wrestling, was The Magazines. I owned a number of them. My collection was getting out of hand along with the Wrestling tapes that I eventually built from the late 80s up until a few years ago.

My magazines were bordering on what was a lot back then, 50-80. My tape collection which I still have the most valued tapes to me today, was at the time throughout the last 2 decades were in the high hundreds close to a thousand or more. There was a point, that I started making my own Wrestling magazine out of lined note paper, drawing my pictures & writing my own articles about not just actual Wrestlers, but about the girls that I didn't like at my school in Rexdale. Man, I was creative with that part of my magazine in particular. It was so much fun though LOL. My boys loved my creativity and my "magazines".

I used WWF's Wrestling Magazines in particular the very exact issue shown above "The Million Dollar Man" on the cover with Virgil at the time as the template for my mag. The whole layout was done or done even better {in my preteen eyes LOL} than WWF's magazine.

My home boys & I would run around in the streets of Rexdale but to entertain ourselves would Wrestle for real in my best buddy Paul {from Barbados}' house basement.

We had my Wrestling figures, we shared Wrestling tapes, magazines, lunch and all that, but I remember that we were close when it came to movies especially Horror movies & even eating junk food with our other buddies, Arman, Larry & Shawn {We were a International crew LOL: Me - the Trini, Paul - the Bajan, Arman - the East Indian, Larry - the Chinese rep & Shawn - the Guyanese homie}.

We had many loves as kids but Wrestling was one of the biggest of our passions. Living in the run down building across from Albion Mall, I had my building crew: CJ - Canadian, Jason - Canadian, Kevin - Jamaican, Ryan - Trinidadian, Kevin - Trinidadian, & Brian - Korean. With some other homies from the buildings around us, that joined our crew like Mario - Trinidadian.

We had Wrestling matches by the dumpsters on old thrown mattresses & Battle Royals on a air vent in the shape of a coffin. All located at the back of the building which is where all of us had our balconies facing. The air vent had a staircase which lead to a sealed up door that lead to the underground of our building. We would use that staircase as our backstage area {I was thinking like an "Wrestling Insider" from my youth in the 80s :) }and fight back there if we got eliminated while, the action in our "ring" commenced.

I started making home made championship belts made from paper, masking tape, duct tape, tin foil, a pen and a pair of scissors. The belts were amazing & strong! I had a blast making my own belts and "defending" them against my boys. If, I was ever beaten, then I would let them walk away with the belt. It was real to us damn it! LOL.

In 88' & 89', I went to the old Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens as shown above. I saw all the greats some with us and some not from WWF of the late 80s. The last time that I went there, was with my Aunt when she came down from Trinidad to live with us. My other Aunt, made home made fried chicken & fries with drinks for us to take. It was an amazing time.

Good ol' Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto was rocking with WWF in "the ol' garden". I was apart of that in WWF's height of popularity. I am proud of those moments. It was a distraction from how life was for me at home & in the streets of Rexdale. Wrestling in the 80s is apart of my life forever. So, now onto the next big memory for me in the 80s.

Toys. Not just any toys, I am talking 1980s toys!. Growing up in the 80s with the very little to look forward too as a kid, I had my toys. I had my toys lined up on display in my room. Then eventually in my "closet" which was like my room. I had an array of the popular 80s toys out at the time. Some of which are even around today, unfortunately, some forgotten. Toys such as:

He-Man action figures are my favorite of all the toys that I have ever had from the 80s. I had more of these toys than anything else. These great toys started my love of action figures. I loved every part of these figures from the figure, to the full card back to the comic book that came with each figure right down to the complete action figure poster, which I still have! So, I have listed He-Man figures as my top choice to start off this great topic from the 80s.

"ThunderCats, hooo!!!" I loved the cartoons & the action figures. I had most of them not all of them, but to me like most of the figures that I had back then, it didn't matter to have all of them since we couldn't afford it, as long as I could own the main characters. These figures were very articulate and on point with what the characters looked like from the cartoon.

Transformers were the shit back then! I had a few from various means but I think that I had watched the cartoon on TV more than owning the figures. I had the main character figures but hey, again, I was happy!

G.I. Joe, I loved the enemies better than I liked the good guys. I was always a Ninja fan, so I loved "Cobra Ninja" {seen above}, I loved the "Crimson Twins" {Crimson Guard Commanders} as well. I use to use these as Wrestlers from time to time and make them Wrestle. I loved these figures so much, I went to a party for my friend and got caught leaving with his figures because we couldn't afford to buy them for me. Needless to say, I had to come back to the party and give them all back. My mother, realized finally, that she had a bad boy on her hands from that moment in the mid eighties. I guess I was trying to be covert from then too like a "Joe" :)

Voltron, they were awesome! And, I know why, because they were not only from the 80s and I loved the cartoon but that they could form a giant robot fighter. So I guess, that was the reason that they were awesome. Of course they were! I still have a picture of me with a figure or two of them from the 80s, just know, that I will never post that here or anywhere :) LOL.

Gremlins, I loved these little figures. I had the one right above this sentence. The picture that I mentioned above, I have me with my action figures lined up and I have what was left from this 3 pack in that line up. I loved the movie & of course the figures. The articulation was dead on too. Get a hold of these if you can.

The Super PowersCollection Action figures represented real action figures to me because they were so life like to me since I was really into super heroes especially Batman, Superman, The Flash, Spider-Man, Captain America & The Green Lantern. The last two figures above, The Green Lantern & The Flash were my favorite of the figures that I owned. They looked so real and sleek to me as you can tell from the images. From the entire Kenner line, I was fascinated the most about The Green Lantern & The Flash figures. But, in all honesty, I was always a major fan of The Joker. He is and always will be my favorite comic character. The super villain of super villains. I was glad to have owned a few of his action figures. Kenner did a great job with there line of figures during the 80s. I know that you can still look online and get them as if they were brand new. I think I am going to be one of those people that gets some of these back. It's for the kid in me.

The DC Comics Super Heroes were like the 2nd stage of action figures just after the Kenner line. I loved these figures more as they were also coming out right on top of the new Batman movie action figures in 89'. So I was trying my best to scoop up as many as these figures as possible. I had just about everyone in this line of figures. I very recently had The Riddler, which I believe was one of my last figures. When I looked again, I saw that I still had one of his riddles in my belongings. The Joker & The Riddler were my favorite from both the lines. ﻿

The 80s line of the Marvel Comics action figures were very articulate and intricate. From this line, my favorites were Spider-Man & Captain America. As you can see from the images above, that they were very sleek and true to the cartoons and comics. I am going to see if I can get back the two figures that I loved so much. I might even seen if I can get The Green Goblin and even Doctor Octopus. The Green Goblin next to The Joker, is my favorite comic villain of all-time. Although, I must give the nod to "The Clown Prince of Crime", The Joker.﻿

﻿

M.U.S.C.L.E. were the coolest little action figures that I have ever seen. When I saw little, I mean little as you can see from the images above. I still have a few of these in my storage and took a look at them recently. They still have that distinctive smell as well. The colorful ones are still some of the more eye catching, the thing is, I never really took to kindly to these ones. I think that they should have stuck with the pink color for the line. It's what made them unique in the first place. The novelty of buying them in the little can was always appealing to me as I would mostly buy them this way. Sometimes, I would buy them in the full back pack. As I said, the can was more fun and more my preference, as the can could also keep the tiny figures more secure. Whereas, buying them in the full back card package, would mean that once it's opened then you have no way of having them secured back in it's original packing. I was always a stickler for keeping my toys/action figures in mint condition. Otherwise, these are brilliant figures and you an collect them and pit them against each other. You can take a look above at how different they were as you can see, they are actually based on them being Wrestlers. I guess, that's one of the reasons that I was fond of these little guys :)﻿

Gobots. Say what you want about these figures, they were great and matched the cartoon. As I was growing up, I felt that they were giving Transformers, a run for their money. I loved them both equally. You could have even thrown in Voltron in there as well. The winners were the kids of the 80s and the fans of the three. I recently came up on my storage and found a game piece for the Gobots board game. It's been sometime, that I have seen an action figure up close, and looking at the poster before posting it above, made me actually miss them. They were really fun as I remember them now. Gobots would be a great little gift though for the person like me that would love to re-collect them. ﻿

Madballs were that toy that when I would go to Albion Mall in Rexdale, enter Kmart's toy section, would just be sitting there staring at me. I would have to pick up a package and just stare back at it. I was fascinated by these things. They were weird and very bizarre looking, so they were right up my alley LOL. You can see from the image above, they were very entertaining and were very well marketed with the comic book and the figures. They were to me similar to that of Garbage Pail Kids. They did, however, stand out on their own.﻿

Popples. I loved them, I have to admit it. I was a softy when it came to these little guys. I am an animal lover, so I think that's where I also developed my love for bunnies. I mean Popples are bunnies and I love bunnies ever since. I had the smaller ones that you see above. The bigger ones were a bit out of my league in terms of pricing and affordable for me. I had a blast with the smaller ones, including, cutting the hair of the last one that I had. I was trying to take care of it and give it a new hair do LOL. I guess my mischief was starting to rear it's really ugly head even when it came to being in the presence of loveable toys LOL. But these toys were a representation of The 80s for me. It was in 1986 that the childish side of me took over and I was so happy to receive my first Mini Popple for my 8th birthday that I was showing everyone and everyone wanted one too when they all saw that I was so happy to have one. And, finally, The McDonald's Happy Meal Toys were dear to me as well. I found simple pleasures with those things :) Have a look: ﻿

Well there you have it everyone. I hope that you enjoyed my look back at the 80s classic toys. For me, along with the previously mentioned WWF action figures these particular figures were & still dear to me.I hope that you smiled when you relieved these great items. It was great reminiscing looking at these old figures. Now, it's time to move on & cover:

A great part of my childhood growing up in the 80s. The 80s Cartoons, were so great in it's simplicities. Below, I have listed a number of my favorite cartoons that I would watch as religiously as possible even though, I spent a lot of time outside with my boys. Saturday mornings were where I would watch a lot of these great shows too. Please keep in mind, that a few of these cartoons actually came from the 60s & 70s but had great syndication runs in the 80s. So have a look everyone. Not much to say when the images speak for themselves. But, I will offer a comment or two for each show. Let's go!:

Alvin & The Chipmunks. Saturday morning lunch was spaghetti & the little guys. Great combo for fun. Never a dull moment with these little guys. It was cool when "The Chipettes" were on the scene too.

Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling. Every Saturday watching this entertaining cartoon from WWF really complimented all the Wrestling that I would watch for the day. It was a great way to market their stars as well. During the boom of 80sWrestling, a move like this could do no wrong.

Spider-Man. Despite it being from the late 60s, it was on syndication in the 80s. I had a blast watching this great cartoon. The opening was classic with a catchy tune. The animation was epic. For a little more on this classic cartoon, go to my previous post found in the "Never Forgotten" label on the side.

The Mighty Hercules. Just to watch this classic 60s cartoon, I would get up early to watch the show in the morning and sometimes if the time got switched, I would check every channel on the TV until I found the show airing. The opening theme song & title card, were worth the search alone. It was cool to know that 5 minutes was the entire length of each complete episode. So, the producers would take a total of 6 episodes of 5 minutes a piece, combine them and it would air as a 30 minute show. Genius! One of my favorite cartoons to watch during my childhood growing up in the 80s. You should find it and enjoy!

Rocket Robin Hood. Classic 60s Canadian cartoon. The theme was just as worth it as the show above. I loved watching this show because it was old Robin Hood, with a rocket strapped to his back and doing his thing. I mean it's simple and it was super cool. Look up online and you can see what I mean!

Beetlejuice. Based off one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite action figures. I remember, hearing that the cartoon was going to air and I was waiting for the first episode back in 89' enjoying every minute of it. ABC did not let me down as I watched this cartoon religiously all the way through the late 80s to when I started Junior high school at Valley Park Middle School. By then, Fox had started airing it in 91' to 92'. I was watching it in the mornings and then off to school after that. It was my ritual. I am glad that it will be released in it's entirety on DVD this year, faster than you can say the name three times: "Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!Beetlejuice!".

Astro Boy. The 80s remake of the 60s series. I would watch this on a Saturday early evening and would wonder why there was no other Cartoons left for me to watch. Then again, after watching this cartoon, I really was okay. Nothing else was needed. I can't actually remember a whole lot about this one except the opening somewhat and the fact that it was on when everything else was done for the day on my TV time for Saturdays. That is whats great about these memory lane pieces, you have the excuse to check out what you don't remember. Astro Boy, regardless, was apart of my childhood growing up in the 80s.

My Pet Monster."My Pet Monster, my very very bestest friend". I mean, who can forget that song from the opening of this great cartoon series? Or the little popular toy? I can't. I hear that song in my head still to this day, and It's been decades since I last heard or saw anything from My Pet Monster! I remember seeing this show and just being hooked. It didn't last very long on air but I still enjoyed it. I couldn't even tell you why really, but then again, anything with a Monster in it, I am game!

The Smurfs. Part of my Saturday mornings ritual of TV & Food. 9 Seasons the entire decade of the 80s, I enjoyed these blue dudes & gyal {Smurfette was a hooooooooo!!!, just joking! :) }. I remember Gargamel and his crazy cat, Azrael. I mean could you argue with the show's premise when everyone in the show was blue with envy! ha! ha! ha! *cough* Anyways, all joking aside, I couldn't get enough of this great show when I was growing up. It was hugely popular hence the years it was on air. The Smurfs are around today thankfully. So, I have some checking out to do. The 3D film came out in 2011, so once again, Smurfs, here I come!

Ewoks. I remember everything about the theme and a little bit about the cartoon. It was sometime ago, but I remember that it aired for us in the later part of the evening. That's all that I remember, I thought Ewoks were cute and really funny in the movies and in the cartoon. The theme song was catchy, the series was definitely for kids. To be honest though, aside from Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader & Hans Solo, TheEwoks were the shit! Oh, I can't forget the ever wise & cunning, Yoda. It didn't last long the show {2 seasons}, it however like most things that I remember from the 80s was still popular. It was popular with this 80s kid.

Inspector Gadget. I know I sound like a broken record right now, but the theme music and the opening I remember a lot. The show, I enjoyed more than some of the other cartoons that I have mentioned here. It was like, Inspector Gadget was a bumbling cartoon version of "MacGyver". The show also had a 3 year run and was in syndication for most of the time even up until now. Not many cartoons let alone shows, have that kind of longevity. I viewed this great cartoon myself up until I was in my early teens. I must have seen the episodes a million times from the 80s through it's syndication but I wasn't complaining. Time to move onto the next cartoon. "Go-Go Gadget!"

Scooby-Doo! "Scooby-Dooby Doo, where are you?" The song that was like heaven to my young years. The show was started in the 60s and they kept it going adding more content to the already popular show throughout the 80s. Always entertaining and a joy to watch, I would watch on Saturday mornings or whenever it was on and have a blast! Thankfully, it's still around and still making children and adults alike laugh. I still do when I hear someone throw out their "Scooby" impression. :)

Tom & Jerry. Been around forever and was always entertaining. Cartoon watching was not complete unless they were apart of the mix. You can still find the shows various incarnations kicking around in stores and on the internet. Looney Tunes. They too have always been around for me. I loved the show and of course in the early 90s, Tiny Toons {"Ducky go down the hole"/"Water go down the hole!"}. Seek out all these great shows and relieve your childhood from the 80s. So, in enclosing I must say: "That's All Folks!"

Now, If I have to really choose which one of these classic cartoons was my favorite, I would have to say that the 60s Spider-Man was my favorite. As mentioned above, just a final reminder, you can check for a previous post on my memories of Spider-Man on the side under "Popular Posts", "Labels" or "Never Forgotten". I hope that you enjoyed the cartoons that I remembered the most from my childhood growing up in the 80s. Now, It's onto another great period in the 80s:

Do I really need to say anything about the fashion ofthe 80s? Probably not, but it is self explanatory. The fashion of the 80s were fashion from the 80s! You can't confuse the style of dress that we all had in those times as it's never been seen since or confused with any other decade. I too was the victim of the trends of the times. I was {and still am} a huge Michael Jackson fan as he was the mega star blowing up so everything that he wore in his videos they started to sell in stores.

My mother thought that I was such as huge fan that I wanted to dress like MJ. God bless her heart, I was decked out in the "Thriller" sweater {which resembled the famous jacket in "Thriller"} and around the same time, my mother made sure that I also had the the "Beat It" jacket.

I was cool, but I was even more cool with my attire. As you can see, I have offered some hairstyles as well that will be "totally tubular"! :) So, here, I offer what was hot with me & those around me in the 80s, enjoy fashionistas!

* 80s hairstyles *

Okay, LOL....alright, I am trying to compose myself as I couldn't stop laughing at the styles that were in back then when I was growing up in the 80s. So now, I will get to the fashion that was hot back then, check it:

* 80s Fashion*

The 80s fashion is unforgettable. Even today, you can see some of the trends from the 80s making it's way back into fashion. It's cool again to be dressed like your from the greatest decade. These were the most popular fashion moments of the time period, but now it's time to get into some:

In my opinion, the greatest era of TV. I will show you a bunch of my favorite shows that I really enjoyed and tried to watch whenever I could get the TV to myself since we shared the TV with at one time a dozen people or so in our little apartment in Rexdale. Keep in mind, that some of these classic shows, are from the 60s & 70s as well, and like some of the cartoons above, they had successful syndication runs in the 80s as well. So they were on my TV in the 80s so they are highly considered as my favorites from the greatest decade ever. Even today, these great shows still hold up in my eyes. Take a look:

Family Matters. I enjoyed the show because Jaleel White's role as "Steve Urkel". Jaleel did a masterful job playing this difficult character as well the other characters he played such as "Myrtle", "Stefan" & "Cornelius". He was a joy to watch.

I enjoyed all the elements of the show, including Michelle Thomas' role as "Myra Monkhouse", the girlfriend of "Steve Urkel". I was saddened to hear that she had passed away in 1998. She was on another hit show, "The Cosby Show" as "Justine Phillips" the girlfriend of Malcolm-Jamal Warner's character, "Theo Huxtable".

Also, who can forget, "Carl Winslow" {Reginald VelJohnson} & the rest of the family that were the back bone of this great show. It was in a class of it's own and filled my Television watching experience with some great laughs, and that's all that "Matters".

A Current Affair. At my age, around the time this was a show that I enjoyed watching because of all it's very scandalous content. I was always fascinated by the dark side of show business and what was making headlines in the news.

However, this show introduced me to the the first time ever, that I finally saw clips of "The Exorcist" when they used those clips to cover a story about real life satanic possession. They used those clips from the movie to drive home the fact that what the movie was based on was from a true story.

I will never forget it, I remember living in Rexdale just before we were going to move to Malvern {Scarborough - East End of Toronto}and being in the room home alone in early 1990 and seeing this story on the show, seeing the clips which they kept showing, and I literally was scared shitless!!! I jumped back to the wall when I saw Linda Blair's face as the possessed little girl in the movie. I was shaken. I had never seen something so scary before like that, I had only heard of "The Exorcist" never saw it though.

In any event, I had been through a lot of scary shit up until that point but what I saw on TV that evening shocked me more than anything. I faced my fears, and eventually watched "The Exorcist" on my own when I got older. Sure I was even more freaked out and believed what I was seeing was truly the greatest & scariest Horror Movie I had ever seen. And now, It's now my number one favorite of all-time.

But it was A Current Affair that gave me the first real shock of my life. Uh thanks, I guess! And thanks to you, Maury Povich.

ALF. I have always been drawn to Sci-Fi type of things, so ALF was suited for me. I liked the fact that he was a fun loving alien that so happened to eat cats...what the hell? LOL. The show was funny and the family complimented the humorous side of things.

To see ALF give the dad headaches all the time was hilarious! Especially, when the dad would catch ALF every episode It seemed like, trying to eat the family cat, Lucky. Or talk the cat Into being his dinner. It was strange but I always found the show funny.

ALF even had a home town {planet} too, "Melmac". His name in the show was catchy too: "Gordon Shumway". The show was classic humor and great hijinks, okay, now I am starting to sound like a TV reviewer giving his one-liner co-sign for the show. Anyways, it's on DVD now, so go and get it! {Okay, I will stop :) }.

Batman. It might've been from the 60s but it was on in syndication after school for me and tons of viewers back in the late 80s. I love the show until the end of this life, it was so entertaining to me despite it's unrealistic cheesy moments. Whatever! I was a Batman fan then and am now, so it's made no difference to me if Batman, had a utility belt that always contained something that was so unrealistic like "Bat-Repellant", "Anti-Shark Repellant" or whatever.

Adam West & Burt Ward were phenomenal in this show, it was great seeing such legendary figures such as Caesar Romero playing my favorite "The Joker", or Scream King, Vincent Price as "Egghead", and Burgess Merdedith as "The Penguin", not to mention, Frank Gorshin as "The Riddler". Eartha Kitt, Lee Meriwether & Julie Newmar all playing "Catwoman".

The cast was a whos who and the guest appearances were legendary in itself. I saw the movie based on the TV show, it was fun to watch it over and over again and just lose your beliefs in that enjoyment of the shows real life comic book elements. It's still to this day, one of my favorite TV series ever. I can just hear & see the opening of the show now!

Donahue, was the king of day time talk shows. There was a lot of controversial shows that he did the one that stood out the most for me would come out later in the very earlier 90s during the height of the steroid scandal in the WWF with Vince McMahon. I was watching this show long before and was fascinated with the format of the show and Phil Donahue's sort of hard hitting talk over everyone rapid style.

I always thought he was trying to cram everything into what seemed like a few minutes each episode. As I got older, I understood TV formats and how things work. He only had an hour which in TV speak is really 45 minutes after 15 total minutes of commercial breaks are taken out. But, wow, he got the job done.

I remember seeing him always keeping his cool and never getting too flustered. He always played the impartial host, often times getting under the skin of the guests because he would ask the difficult questions. Phil Donahue was the first real talk show host that I actually liked. There was no topic he didn't cover, no wonder he was so successful hosting the show for over 30 years. They don't make em' like Donahue anymore!

Family Ties. The theme song is playing in my head as we speak. Michael J. Fox was the star of this show for me but I remember Tom Hanks showing up for appearances, watching Tina Yothers doing her thing, Justine Bateman's humor, Meredith Baxter's temper flare when it called for it and of course Michael Gross as the hilarious father.

Speaking of appearances, you can just look up and see the enormous array of talent that appeared in the show's 7 year history, which includes an actress that wound up as a major star on "Friends" in the 90s. Cool former Hippie parents and square kids, it was different and really ground breaking. Usually, it's the total opposite in shows.

There were incredible culture clashes for the story lines, clashes that were the 60s generation of the parents against the 80s generation of the kids. I watched this show religiously until it went off the air. Michael J. Fox was 80s TV & Movies for me in that time period. "Marty McFly" & "Alex P. Keaton" two of the many roles he played that I will never forget. Glad to see he still as much a star now then he ever was.

A Different World. "Where you come from". That was a line from the theme song of the show. It was a spin off of "The Cosby Show" and it had a great cast of stars on there. Jasmine Guy, Sinbad, Lisa Bonet, Marisa Tomei, Kadeem Harrison, Jada Pinkett just to name a few.

The show was created by Bill Cosby and he hit a homerun with this show. I remember at one point if I am not mistaken, watching "The Cosby Show" then right after would be "A Different World".

I loved seeing this show because it was new and fresh to me since I was use to seeing "The Cosby Show" on a regular basis and the shows were similar in some ways but was really the total opposite having been taken place on a campus setting.

The show had a nice 6 year run so it was definitely doing something right with the show. I am glad to see that a lot of the stars mentioned above went onto great things in their respective careers. The show was a star maker thanks to it's show's creator.

Full House. I could not go a week without seeing this show. I became addicted to the show, the cast, the them song to open the show, and all of the little cute things that the then-baby Olsen Twins did. And, what a run they had on Television as well, 8 solid years.

I remember "Joey" {Dave Coulier}'s "Cut, It, Out" hand gesture, The Beach Boys singing with "Jesse Katsopolis" {John Stamos}, "Jesse"'s "Have Mercy" amongst the stand out moments of the show. Of course, I remember how at home the girls, "D.J. {Donna Jo}" {Candace Cameron} & "Stephanie" {Jodie Sweetin} seemed with talking to each other and their "dad" "Danny" {Bob Saget} or their friend "Kimmy Gibler" {Andrea Barber}. It was really soothing watching this show and kicking back with some canned pasta.

Shoot, I think that I want to do that again right now :) Check out Full House, If your more of an 90s baby, you will not regret It, tell em' "Uncle Jesse" sent ya!

Geraldo. Say what you will, but from what I saw in the late 80s when he and some of the crew beat up some White Supremacists/Skinheads on national Television. I was instantly a fan of Geraldo Rivera.

It was referred to as "Trash TV" but, to me, Geraldo was the man kicking some ass in a full scale nationally televised unscripted brawl. I then saw what a lot of people may not remember, but he got into another altercation with Skinheads/White Supremacists when he was on a field report.

This time, I remember the guy had the microphone too was goading Geraldo with racists insults and knocked the mic out of Rivera's hand and went for him then Geraldo decked him and then another brawl was under way. Geraldo once again had a bloody nose and cuts.

The show was what stood out for me because of those two fights and of course some of his guests. Later, I found out that Geraldo was a Golden Gloves Boxer, so that helped to add to his tough guy exterior as a host. He was "Tabloid TV" and I loved every minute of it because the content matter was interesting to me. It was dark and bizarre to me.

Growing Pains. I was a fan of the show and I enjoyed the elements of the show that encompassed what made this show so successful for 7 years. The show gave Leonardo DiCaprio his start as well. The notable guest stars are a cast for a separate hit show on it's own. The most notable of those guest stars was Brad Pitt.

It's good to see the entire cast alive and well. Like many shows from the 80s, they had successful runs garnering high ratings & cult followings.

This show was no different. It was also very simple, the shows of today can take a look at Growing Pains as a show that carved it's own niche by being funny and teaching some valuable lessons in parenting and child experiences. Okay, my PTA announcement is over :)

Head of the Class. I really enjoyed this show when it aired. It had a few notable names in it as well: Robin Givens, Michael DeLorenzo {Dancer in Michael Jackson's "Beat It" & "Thriller" music videos, also starred in "New York Undercover" & "A Few Good Men" among his most notable credits}, Rain Pryor, Howard Hesseman & Billy Connolly.

I have to say that Michael {"Alex Torres"} was the standout in the show for me even though he was only there for a few years. I remembered him from the Michael Jackson videos earlier in the 80s, so I was already familiar with his work. Robin Givens did stand out for me and was a pretty good actress in the show. Howard Hesseman, I thought was entertaining as I had been a fan of his from his "WKRP In Cincinnati" days.

The classroom was the show, only on TV back in the 80s could have this worked. On TV today, this would not work because of people's attention span & this generation of TV viewers wanting to see over-the-top story lines and special effects.

A show like this though could fit now if it wasn't for everything being thrown at the wall and nothing really sticking. The average life span of a TV show is now under 3-4 years if that much. Head of the Class lasted for 5 seasons. Which is years really, most popular shows that I have seen, are pulled on a certain channel, which I won't name, after anywhere from 3 to 4 years if that much, maybe even 6 years. That's stretching it with this particular station.

Most stations seem to be like that now anyways and it's hard for a viewer to get emotionally invested into a show when it's always lingering that the show gets steam then gets pulled. Head of the Class in the late 80s was a success in that for that time period it was funny yes, but the scenery didn't vary much and the show had a cast of upstarts and so but still, it lasted longer than most shows do today under those parameters.

I guess they were more like "Head of the Game" in that regard. By the way, it's great to see Michael DeLorenzo doing well for himself after a very lengthy & successful career in show business. Great job "Detective Torres" :)

Knight Rider. Before I talk a little bit about this show, I have to say one thing: The action figure of David Hasselhoff & "Kitt" {the car} was the coolest thing ever! The toy car talked just liked the show! I mean, what more do you want then a toy replica of the show's most enticing feature?! Okay, that's enough of my nerdy side LOL :)

Now onto the actual show, in all seriousness, I liked the show for the fact that it was a bit out there in terms of the story line, but out there is what I do as well. So instead of liking it, I loved it!

I guess when the show ran it's course that it was due to lack of any further creativity for the show's main plot. It had a nice little run anyways, and did great in merchandise numbers. If you ever get to watch this show then please do.

If your an old fan of the show, then do what I do when you see something fond from your past, and just bask in the moment. I say this, because Television today does not evoke those feelings like how it use to. I mean, a talking car today would not interest people unless it had a bunch of garnishments surrounding it.

David Hasselhoff did a great job in carrying the job as far as it could go also. Whatever your opinion of him, that is talent as an actor and hats off to the creator Glen A. Larson. You guys made a mark on me when it comes to 80s TV.

MacGyver. The coolest show I ever saw on Television in the 80s, hands down. Richard Dean Anderson as Secret agent "MacGyver" did a masterful job. The man was slick, cool, calm and can make a weapon out of anything. That was all I needed.

It had a very successful run for 7 years and was co-executive produced by "The Fonz" Henry Winkler. I am glad to see that Anderson is alive and well and still going strong. I haven't seen a show this cool ever since it went off the air.

However, you can thankfully purchase the series on DVD and relieve all the magic that Anderson as "MacGyver" created. Common items used in our every day lives he made into something that could be deadly without ever using a gun, which by the shows premise, he never wanted to use one. I mean in anything in Hollywood produced, who does that now a days? This show was ahead of it's time.

I am glad that I had the chance to watch coolness in motion. Richard Dean Anderson and everyone that worked on that show, thank you for the great moments.

Magnum, P.I.Tom Selleck carried this show for 8 solid seasons. When I was old enough to understand the show's plot, I became a fan because, I always liked crime fighting shows.

I must say though, aside from Tom's consistent performance, the other stand out was: John Hellerman. He complimented Tom's character with his. He was the total opposite of Tom's character in the show which made up for great chemistry.

It was a simple show to me and not overly complicated. Years later, I started watching, the remake hit TV show "Hawaii Five-O", that show reminds me a lot of the old Magnum series. Aside from the obvious location of Hawaii, the action feels similar.

Now, if you would like to check out the guest star cast for Magnum you will find a legendary cast of stars. I just looked at the list and well, you have to see it for yourself. The list is phenomenal but you had to have had an incredibly consistent show. That it was and Tom Selleck being the heart throb of the 80s helped the shows cause a great deal as well in attracting an audience.

And the impressive list of guest stars. The show was a hot show and still entertains me when I come across it in a syndication rerun or clip online. If your a fan of Tom Selleck and the 80s, this show is the show to track see. There will never be another one like it.

Night Court. In my top 5 favorite shows from the 80s. The cast just clicked and Harry Anderson, Richard Moll, Markie Post, Marsha Warfield & John Larroquette were the stand outs for me on this awesome show. Hell, they were the co-stars of the show.

But aside from the obvious, the show to me was so relaxing to watch, everything from the court room setting, to Harry's office. Every cast member on the show played an integral part to the shows' success. 9 years proves that success.

Not much more can be a said about a show that I personally found flawless. So, if you get a chance, add this show to your collection, it's a great show with so many simple elements, that you can't help but to fall in love with its simplicity.

Fashion Television. If you ever see this, God bless you Jeanne Beker. You and this great show with the use of "Obsession" by Animotion were the biggest reasons I wanted to get into Fashion. I am trying to get my company off the ground and Fashion is apart of that business model. It all started with FT. This was a staple on Television up until last year, when it was announced that the show was finally ending.

For 27 years it was on the air. From the mid-80s I watched this show and was fascinated with the designers and their visions of what Fashion should have looked like in that time. The show aired in Toronto on City-TV and it was an easy find for me as I remembered to always tune in on Sunday evenings to watch, if I was aware of my love of Fashion as I am now, I would probably have back then picked up my pencil and pad to take notes.

In a perfect World, I hope that somehow if possible, that City-TV & Fashion Television {channel} put this historical Fashion show on DVD for consumption. I would love to own this as I am sure it will help with some great ideas and take a look at where Fashion has been from the mid-80s up until last year. I can hear the opening now, while the video montage begins the show now.

Pee-Wee's Playhouse. "Connect the dots, la la la, connect the dots, la la la!". That damn song has been in my head for over 25 years now! :) I was fascinated by Paul Reubens' "Pee-Wee" character. He was a real life cartoon character with all the great fun things that as a child, you were pulled into enjoying.

I spoke about Mr. Reubens already in this wonderful post {check just below this topic under "80s Icons"}, he made a huge impact on me as a kid growing up In the 80s. The show produced some great talent as I mentioned below, It spawned a chain of action figures and toys, hit movies and all kinds of fun stuff from that time period.

My Saturday mornings were not complete until I watched an episode of this live cartoon. You can take a look at some of the one-time characters that were on the show like Sandra Bernhard, the late Steve James {"American Ninja"} & Jimmy Smits.

With characters like "Conky", "Chairry", "Miss Yvonne", "Reba the Mail Lady" & "The King of Cartoons", I mean, does this show sound like it would be fun? I think so! It was! And thankfully, it still is, as I mention below, Paul, has made a comeback as his most famous character. I wonder, will Laurence Fishburne make a return as well? I would like to see that! "Connect the dots, la la la!"

Perfect Strangers. "Well, of course not, don't be ridi-cool-us." Bronson Pinchot was the man in this show, no offense to Mark Linn-Baker {"Larry Appleton"} who was a great compliment to Bronson in this hit show, but as "Balki Bartokomous", no one was funnier on Television more than Bronson.

I watched this show all the time and never stopped laughing at the crazy shit these two would get into, or when something great happened they would celebrate: "Now we are so happy, we do the Dance of Joy!".

The show was widely popular and incredibly successful with a simple premise. The show went on for 8 years, so that shows you right there that it was well received by critics alike. Get the show on DVD now, and you too, will be doing "The Dance of Joy!".

Saved By The Bell. I was trying to keep this section video free but I couldn't resist this. It's the catchy theme song. Your not a fan of this show, if your not a fan of the song. It's one of the more memorable TV themes:

With a theme like that, how can you go wrong! I have a huge place in my heart for this show and it will be there forever. One of those reasons was that I was learning what it would be like to go to high school as I was a couple of years away from going and wanted to prepare as much as possible.

This show made me excited to go, even though I have never really been a big fan of school. At least not for me. I encourage others to get your education to help prepare for the future.

Anyways, The point is that the cast of this show & the show its self, never let me down when it came to getting that feeling of what high school was like. When I started going to high school at Marc Garneau in 1993, It was pretty much, what I expected.

Onto to the show now. I started watching when in the show was first called "Good Morning, Miss Bliss". I was hooked when I first saw it and became a rabid follower of the show when it was renamed "Saved By The Bell". Not, episode did I ever miss. Saved By The Bell, in my humble opinion was better than most shows on TV at that time.

Watching it on Saturday's as a apart of my day of TV viewing was a must. It didn't matter if one of the other shows that I had on my list to watch for the day didn't aired, Saved By The Bell had to air. If it didn't, I would be super pissed! Thankfully, it always aired from what I remember.

Unfortunately, I started to lose track of the show a little bit too often when I realized that I wasn't the biggest fan of "Saved By The Bell: The College Years". I did however, still stayed loyal to the new show as much as possible. It was good to see some of the familiar faces from the original show, that I remembered on there but it wasn't like the original that's for sure.

Then there was a third show, that I never watched, save for a few episodes here and there. I wasn't watching TV as much as I did in the 80s. I had responsibilities that most normal teenagers didn't have at the time. So my TV viewing was limited.

In any event, my favorite version of the show was the original Saved By The Bell. Not a boring or weak character on the show at all. Mark-Paul Gosselaar {"Zack Morris"}, Mario Lopez {"A.C. Slater"}, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen {"Kelly Kapowski"}, Lark Voorhies {"Lisa Turtle"}, Elizabeth Berkley {"Jessie Spano"}, Dustin Diamond {"Samuel 'Screech' Powers"}, Dennis Haskins {"Principal Richard Belding"} & Ed Alonzo {"Max"} made for Television's most solid cast at the time. Each one had their own personality and brought something great to the table. The chemistry with the cast was spot on perfection. It made for an enjoyable, soothing & exciting show.

The show is also where I along with all it's other cult like followers, got the chance to see Tori Spelling {"Violet Anne Bickerstaff"} & Leanna Creel {"Tori Scott"} for the first time. Leah Remini {"Stacey Carosi"} even popped up in a significant role as "Zack's girlfriend" for six episodes.

A few of the episodes that I vividly remember were, when finally "Preppy" as "Slater" use to call "Zack" all the time and "Kelly" started their romance then ended it then started it again. I remember when "Jessie" and "Slater" started dating then fighting and "Jessie" called him "pig" and he said: "Well oink oink baby!" :) or she would call him "bubba".

I remembered when "Lisa" broke her foot and she and "Screech" still went on with the dance competition working around her injury including doing that cheek in cheek out dance move. Hey, I thought It was cute!

I remembered the time when "Zack" & "Lisa" hooked up. I thought: "Wow, that's hot!". Hell, If I am not mistaken, I remember when "Zack" & "Jessie" hooked up. When "Kelly" & "Slater" had their fling. Yeah, so you get the point, there was a lot of hooking up going on in the show. And, I loved It!

I remember, how finally, In what I thought was the greatest thing ever, was the episode when "Zack" and "Slater" had a fist fight and were brawling in the hallway because of some girl {can't remember who it was over though}. I remember hearing the reaction of the audience and thinking: "damn! this is real!". Hey, "Zack" held his own against the amateur Wrestler, "Slater". They beat the crap out of each other in the hallway and the school rushed to see this epic one time fist fight. It was just moments like these that I really enjoyed the show and was grateful that the show touched on some really important issues including friendship and loyalty.

Saved By The Bell aired for 4 wildly popular seasons and were the talk of Hollywood. NBC scored huge with this monster ratings grab. For me, I was enamored with the shows dynamic cast and premise. It's great to see that everyone is still doing really well for themselves in Entertainment. This version of the show spawned TV Movies and later on with tremendous DVD sales.

Unfortunately, when the show aired It's final episode in 1993, with all of them graduating from "Bayside High School", that was the end of the run that we all remembered most from the show. It was never the same but the good thing is, because of those DVD sets, you can relieve the show's greatest moments from "The Students of Bayside" forever. I know that I will be!

The Hilarious House Of Frightenstein. In a upcoming "Navarro's Notes" post, I will be going into greater detail about this classic earlier 70s Canadian show. I watched It In the 80s when it was being syndicated and fell In love with It from the first time I ever saw It.

It's Monsters and comic relief so that was certainly my cup of tea. From the moment, that I saw the title card, I knew that I was in for a real treat. One hour of amazing acting, especially from the man that carried the show playing most of the shows characters, Billy Van.

Fishka Rais {"Igor"} did a great job holding his own. Guy Big {"The Midget Count"} was great in his role as a regular. Mitch Markowitz {Associate Producer of the show & played "Supperhippie" & "Mosquito"} wore many hats as you see, and still was real funny and something to see. Julius Sumner Miller {"The Professor"} was crazy looking but really was a physicist.

And, who can forget, The Legendary, Vincent Price. The fact that he was on this Canadian show, lent to the credibility of how important a show like this was at the time to children. Mr. Price started and ended the show every episode for it's run. He was the show's biggest name star. But it was Van, who really stole the show.

I use to wake up very, very early in the morning to watch Cartoons on Saturday mornings and around 5:30am or so, I would catch "The Farm Report" just before the 6am lead show that I waited to see, which was Frightenstein. All so that I wouldn't miss a moment of the show. From start to finish, there was never a dull moment.

The music, the characters, the witty banter, and the jokes with a bit of cheese thrown in there, Hilarious will always be number one in my heart.

Hamilton, Ontario's CHCH-TV produced a classic & Iconic Canadian Television show that I will never forget. Look out for my upcoming "Navarro's Notes II" for more about "The House That Van Built".

The Facts of Life. "You take the good, you take the bad, and there you have, the Facts of Life". The show that I first saw George Clooney and even remember seeing Molly Ringwald. Another memorable show from the 80s.

Who can forget "Edna" {Charlotte Rae} taking care of those funny girls in the boarding school in New York? I can't. Especially when each of them had their own personalities and the one that stood for me, was Kim Fields {"Tootie"}.

Don't get me wrong "Blair Warner" {Lisa Welchel} was so funny in her stuck-up high & mighty character. "Jo" {Nancy McKeon} as the school's tomboy did a masterful job making you think that: "Man, she is funny, but don't laugh too hard, she will whup your ass if you do!". Mindy Cohn {"Natalie Green"}, "Beverly" {Cloris Leachman} was funny in the last couple of seasons.

The rest of the cast stood out to me and the chemistry of everyone is what made the show last for 9 seasons {another show that actually started In the 70s}. I can't forget, Geri Jewell {"Geri Tyler"} who made history being one of the first actresses to appear regularly on a prime time show with a physical disability {cerebral palsy}. And, wow was she super funny! :)

In any event, this show left a great impression on me. An all-female starring cast, based in a boarding school. Comedy and Chaos all rolled into one, I love it!

The Cosby Show. In my top ten favorite shows ever, not just the 80s. With co-creator, Bill Cosby at the helm, this show spoke to me and many millions that watched as what I called "America's number 1 TV family" {"The Huxtables"} dominated the screen for 8 wonderful years on prime time Television.

There were not a single weak link on the show, everyone played a very important supporting role. I remember just about every episode, including the time that "Heathcliff" {Cosby} & "Clair" {Phylicia Rashad}{the parents} decided to teach "Theo" {Malcolm Jamal-Warner} about the "real World" and stripped down the house and made it into a bank, an apartment building, a restaurant, a store and so on. That was one of the more clever episodes.

Or the time that "Denise" {Lisa Bonet} decided to sew her own version of "Gordon Gartrell" shirt for "Theo" because he wanted to impress his girl. Or the time that "Elvin Tibideaux" {Geoffrey Owens} & his "wife" "Sondra Huxtable-Tibideaux" {Sabrina LeBeauf} decided to start their own camping store instead of going to medical school. Or the time that "Rudy" {Keshia Knight Pulliam} and sister "Vanessa" {Tempestt Bledsoe} were fighting so badly that they were banished to the basement where the fighting continued. There were endless memories that made me laugh until I cried.

But, I remember the two occasions where the entire family would perform in the house for "Heathcliff"'s parents "Russell" {Earle Hyman} & "Anna" {Clarice Taylor} for their anniversaries. The most memorable performance was when the family performed James Brown's "I Got The Feelin'" which was classic! Little "Rudy" was the star of that performance! There was never a dull moment or a uneventful episode. It spun off another show "A Different World" mentioned below.

This was also the very first show that outside of the West Indian programming that I use to watch, where Trinidad was mentioned a few times not to mention the late great Trinidadian born actor Sullivan Walker {"Dr. James Harmon"} made the first memorable appearance on the show playing Bocce Ball with "Heathcliff" {he later went on to playing 50 Cent's on-screen grandfather in his bio-pic, 2005's "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" which turned out to being his final role}.

The Cosby Show encompassed a number of Caribbean flavor since it was used to help authenticate the show's Brooklyn, New York backdrop, as Brooklyn is a very heavily populated West Indian borough. The show had everything and thankfully you can catch the show on DVD and enjoy all it's hilarious moments. Still to this day it's one of the most successful shows ever. It was ground breaking and dealt with real issues in the community, a lot of which was invariably identifiable to myself and many minorities growing up In the 80s.

The Cosby Show, never will there ever been another legendary show such as this. From the opening credits where the family danced to the closing moments, this show had an indefinite place in my heart forever. I learned a lot, thanks to everyone that were on this show. Because of you all, I had a family for 30 minutes every Thursday night.

The Golden Girls. "Thank you for being a friend...". The last line in the opening song for the show. Another, one that I will never forget. One of my favorite shows, The Golden Girls proved that age was nothing but a number when it came to being a popular, successful and even raunchy {thanks to "Blanche"} show.

They had an incredible run on top of the TV standings with 7 years on the air. I even remember watching this show somewhere very near to watching every other month's WWF Saturday Night's Main Event late on a Saturday. I had a great entertainment with The Golden Girls leading into my Wrestling time.

TGG was a simple premise with all of them living together all from different backgrounds despite that "Dorothy" {Bea Arthur} & "Sophia" {Estelle Getty} were mother and daughter. "Blanche" {Rue McClanahan} was the man-hungry lady and she was my favorite because she was the edgier character of the four ladies.

It worked for the show and it was a joy to watch her in action on the show. I bet she would make a dirty crack at me if I was on the show for saying "watch her in action" LOL. "Rose" {Betty White} was a one-woman shown onto herself! She is still going strong today at age 91! She is even more popular and in demand now then ever!

Unfortunately, all of her co-stars have since passed away, thankfully though, they all lived full long lives and made a mark on mine. The chemistry of the ladies to make the show so damn good still puts a smile on my face, even as I type this now. For me, all four ladies were soooo funny, but, the funniest for me was "Sophia" & "Rose".

Awwww, I can just hear Estelle in her "Sophia" voice say: "Picture It...Sicily...19..." :) Long live The Girls!

The Wonder Years. "What would you do, if I sang out of tune". I will always remember the opening line of that song for this great show. The show was my favorite because I wanted to always see what would happen with "Kevin" {Fred Savage} & "Winnie" {Danice McKellar} relationship.

I was about that age when kids love was something that I was interested in, since I was roughly about their age when the show first aired. I do however enjoy "Paul" {Josh Saviano}'s character as well. All the stars on the show were great elements for the show in order for it to have some more depth.

For 6 years or so, The Wonder Years, were my teachers in growing up and how to approach a girl that I like. Eventually, I would grow into a more confident and smoother operator than "Kevin" LOL.

I remember Savage's character, saying the dumbest things to his parents "Jack & Norma" {Dan Lauria & Alley Mills}, his brother "Wayne" {Jason Hervey} punking him off all the time & sister "Karen" {Olivia d'Abo} being the hippie free spirit that I remember giving her brother "Kevin" some good advice at times.

The show was a hit for me in my eyes and the eyes of many. Hopefully, someone can put out the entire complete seasons on DVD. I am sure many of us fans would go out and grab it.

Three's Company. May he rest in peace, John Ritter as "Jack Tripper" was the funniest all round character on 80s Television.

But let's start with the opening, it was very real but the music's tempo started off sounding like a 70s porn film. LOL. But then again, the show did first start airing In the 70s! LOL. Then the lyrics went: "Come on knock on our door"...you know the rest, this Isn't sing along with Navarro {Sorry "Rock"} LOL :)

"Mr. Furley" {Don Knotts} was fantastic! Every time, I saw him wearing that blue scarf tied around his neck, I swear, I thought...well, never mind what I thought, Ha! Ha! Ha! I was born in the late 70s so I guess that was the style back then when the show first aired.

I have to admit, that Suzanne Somers {"Chrissy Snow"} & Joyce DeWitt {"Janet Wood"} really were the back bone of this show & held their own with the comedic genius of Ritter & Knotts. I also remember the characters "Larry Dallas" {Richard Kline}, the sleazy neighbor and best friend of "Jack" and "The Ropers": "Stanley Roper" {Norman Fell} & "Helen Roper" {Audra Lindley} who played the original landlords in the show.

I loved the show it was one of the few shows where it seemed so in your face because of how the show was shot, so it felt at times like you were right there in that living room laughing it up with them. Kind of reminds me of "One Day At A Time" {"Schneider"} which was, another mid 70s show that ran well Into the 80s.

V. The show where I first saw Legendary actor Robert Englund {"Freddy Krueger"}. And, where I nearly shit myself watching "The Visitors" {human reptiles} "eat" live animals {mostly rodents} during the course of the show. It was gross but it was like I was a deer in headlights with some of the things that I saw.

The show was gross in many ways, as an animal lover, I don't think that I could stand watching this show now. I know that it just recently had a bit of a resurrection back in 2009 but I will always remember the original. I have never really been a fan of remakes or whatever they are calling it now. I have to admit, what I really remembered about the show was just what I have mentioned, Mr. Englund and the animal eating.

The show's plot and story lines, I hardly remember as It has been so long ago and not to mention those things that I remember has kind of blocked out anything else. I was a fan of the show all the way and really wished that NBC kept it a bit more consistent in airing it. If you look it up right now, you can see what I mean. The show was broken up in different parts lasting anywhere from 2-19 episodes. And, lasting only 1 season in it's only somewhat consistent run In the mid 80s.

For Horror fans like myself, it was all good, since instead, we all got to see the explosion of "Freddy Mania".

Who's The Boss? Not a weak link in this show. I watched every episode for the entire 8 year run it was on network Television. Tony Danza was brilliant in this show. I will never forget his role in hit show with Andy Kaufman, "Taxi", the fact that he was a pro Boxer & was in a great movie that I really {don't care what the critics said about it}enjoyed, 1989's "She's Outta of Control". It was good to see that he recently had his own reality show on A & E.

Judith Light, was a pleasure to watch in the recent hit show "Ugly Betty". Alyssa Milano, has had a very solid & successful career, including hit show "Charmed". I will always remember her In the 85' movie "Commando" with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Oh, and she is an avid Sports nut. Danny Pintauro, how I can forget him when he was in a personal favorite Horror movie of mine, "Cujo" or in "As The World Turns", the hit show in the earlier 80s. Good to see that he has returned to acting.

And of course, who can forget, the lovely, Katherine Helmund. Do I even have to say anything about her career? Do I have to tell you she was on "Soap", "Coach" & "Everybody Loves Raymond"? I thought so. It's really good to see them all doing well and enjoying Show business.

This show was the first time that I remember seeing for the first time, Leah Remini. The list of stars that appeared on the show proved the shows popularity, Frank Sinatra, Delta Burke, Mike Tyson and so on. The show's premise was simple, and I never felt lost in the story lines. It was non-complicated and chock full of funny moments. I can never forget the classic "Tony Micelli" {Danza} line: "Ay-oh! Oh-ay!".

Diff'rent Strokes. "Watchoo talkin' 'bout Willis?" He has since passed on but Gary Coleman stole the show in this great series. The show may have started in the late 70s but throughout it's run In the 80s, it gained a fan in me.

For 8 seasons the show gained a strong following and spoke to kids such as myself that came from difficult circumstances in family & home life. The stars all had their shine from the show at some point or the other after it went off the air, but unfortunately there was too much tragedy that came from the show.

I haven't said this throughout this flashback to the greatest decade, but I don't focus on the negatives of things when like a lot of us, back then, we never saw that side of these stars from these shows and movies.

We saw what was on screen and held onto those memories more and didn't concentrate on what was supposedly or factually going on behind the curtain. The Strokes show was popular and had a rabid following. That's all that Is Important.

The negatives, can be left up to a different discussion for another time. Bring that discussion to me now, I will simply say: "Watchoo talkin' 'bout?".

You Can't Do That On Television. In my top 5 favorite shows to watch In
the 80s. I would watch this religiously like my life depended on it in
the evenings everyday. I wrote in greater detail about this legendary
Canadian Television show in an earlier "Never Forgotten" post.

What more
can be said about the show: "I Don't Know"....*Green Slime*. Yikes!
YCDTOTV will always have a place in my heart, because it was one of the
rare real successful Canadian branded shows. It produced great talent
such as Alanis Morissette & Ruth Buzzi.

The show had a lot of hidden
messages that tried to educate a little bit as well, for example if you
go to my post about the show from earlier, you will see a video where
they discuss poverty & not to take anything for granted In life. It
was sketch and parody of what was pop culture back then.

A few shows
have emulated the show's format since and were not as successful as this
great show. So, if you ever come across this show online or in some
other form, sit back, enjoy and just don't say those magical words that I
mentioned above or you will get slimed!

Please don't ask me to pick just one of these shows as my favorite show from the 80s. They are all my favorites. I am glad that you can get all these shows in it's entirety on DVD. So it looks like, I am going to be doing some collecting soon :) I hope that everyone saw some of there favorite shows here. It's time to move on to another great topic of the 80s, here it is:

You can't say 80s without saying Michael Jackson, Prince & Madonna. Here are some of the icons of the 80s that you hopefully will also identify with as well. I have never been envious of anyone and never will be, but these individuals were & always will be apart of my life as having left an ever lasting impression on me. Take a look & I am sure you will agree with me on who were the 80s. Some thankfully, are around today still making headlines:

What can you say about Michael Jackson? Except, he is the biggest icon of the 1980s. He was on top and no one can dispute that. He pretty much owned the World and everything in it. His albums were charting topping, his humanitarian efforts were impactful & his style was trend setting. His music videos were state-of-the-art masterpieces and he was just simply untouchable. Despite his untimely death, the mark that he left on me and many millions around the World not just in the 80s but his entire career & life, to all of us, he will always be the King.

When you say the 80s, you have to say Prince. He was a mega star that held his own against those of the likes of Michael Jackson and Madonna. Not to mention all the great bands and artists that were kicking down the door of edgy & hard hitting music. His major motion picture "Purple Rain" was a massive success {at least in my eyes and his fan}, his soundtrack of the same name was number 1 with many classic cuts & he set the trend that it's cool to be different. It's cool to be you, it's cool to be sexualized in your music and in appearance. He also introduced the World to Morris Day & The Time, Sheila E., Appolonia 6, The Revolution {His band featured in his movie along with the names mentioned above}and so many others. I am glad that he is still around today and still very much in demand. A true 80s icon in every sense of the Word.

Madonna, The Queen of The 80s. No doubt. She burst onto the scene and suddenly every woman is dressing like her. That is a trend setter. "The Material Girl" epitomized the greatest decade with her incredible tunes & fashion style. She was the bench mark for what you see today with female artists. Edgy, fearless, full of female bravado & charm, Madonna, will always be the biggest female star ofthe 80s. When I say the biggest names in the industry at the time, she is right up there with Michael Jackson & Prince. You were not a fan of music if you were not a fan of Madonna first. Her albums topped the charts the entire decade and never skipped a beat. Her concerts were controversial & raunchy. She also carved out a nice film career out of it as well. Not to mention in the early 90s some really controversial material such as her documentary film "Truth Or Dare", her book & explicitly ass-shaking music, to me it was a seller. I will personally never forget what she has accomplished. No matter what your opinions of her are, with her sexual content showed everyone that no matter what, never conform. If this is how you feel then go for it and "Express yourself". Today, she is still relevant and making headlines with anything she has her hands on. Her mark on pop culture society will forever be etched in stone. And in my heart. All Hail The Queen!

The funniest man in show business in the 80s. You can not say icon without mentioning Eddie Murphy's name. His appearances on Saturday Night Live, His cult classic stand-up comedy films: "Delirious" & "Raw" set the bar so high for up-coming comics, that the height of success has yet to be reached. His films were blockbusters for its time & highly entertaining. He was the "It" guy for the greatest decade. Everything he touched was turned to gold. He could do no wrong and personally for me is the greatest comedian ever that ever lived. Films like "Trading Places", "Beverly Hills Cop", "48 Hours", "The Golden Child" & "Coming To America" still stand today up against films of today as entertaining and highly energetic. His impressions of Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby & Mr. T are stuff of legend. He is around today having accomplished everything that there is to accomplish in the eyes of the public. From what I have heard & seen, Eddie was & still is the guy to be around as people then and now recognize him as not just a icon but a legend. His star power is unmatched. He will have a place in my childhood as a young man that grew up in the business and knocked down tradition & ushered in a wave of cutting edge, take no prisoners way of acting & comedy. He is forever, the man!

Never before has a Professional Wrestler captured the hearts and imaginations of a generation in the 80s like Hulk Hogan. Hulk, was WWF World Heavy Weight Champion & the King of Wrestling. "Hulkamania" was soaring & a pop culture phenomenon, his name and likeness was on everything from WWF's programming to action figures, Ice cream bars, all over the new at the time MTV, to late-night talk shows to helping the formation of Vince McMahon's greatest creation: Wrestlemania. There was not a person in the 80s that didn't know who Hulk Hogan was. He was the man in an era filled with colorful & iconic stars. He rose above everyone like no other has til this day. Sold out arenas all over the World, multi million dollar gates, endorsements, major motion picture films like "Rocky III", {His self starring role}"No Holds Barred" and being the poster child for good clean & wholesome living with his mantra: "Say your prayers and eat your vitamins". This larger-than-life man was and still is today, a cross-over pop cultural icon. There will never ben another one like "The Hulkster"!

The 1980s was defined by one person. That person was Boy George. He, along with his band, CultureClub had such great hits as: "Church Of The Poison Mind", "Karma Chameleon" & "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me". Boy's style of dress was the rage once again doing what those before him did and that's set fashion trends that would last throughout the 80s. If you see the movie "Wedding Singer" Starring Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore, you will see how his effect on the culture left a ever-lasting impression on pop culture. Boy came along with this melodic voice & eye-catching appearance and marked his place in the history books in music and in my childhood. He is around today still in demand but of course like many from this era, has re-invented himself again. If I ever meet George, I will certainly shake his hand and say "Thanks for the memories, you truly are an Icon".

The "Italian Stallion" himself, Sylvester Stallone. Throughout the 80s, "Sly" entertained me, millions & millions of movie goers with classic movies such as "Rocky III", "Cobra", "Rambo", "Rocky IV", "Over The Top" & "Tango & Cash". He is one star that I hope that one day, I can through my company get the chance to work with and brain storm with, with the hopes of putting something together for the public. He is a machine, you can look up what he looked like back then and what he looks like now. He is in the best shape of his life, a Hall of Famer including Boxing's Hall & is staring in some great movies today, one of which I will be seeing later today as I write this {"Bullet To The Head"}. He is still the top box office draw today as he was back then. Not to mention he keeps his finger on today's pop culture. Just look at some of his latest films. He always re-invents himself. He is a cross generational icon. The 80s was tough because "Sly" made it that way. You can't just call him an icon, you can call him LEGEND!

Bill Cosby was my dad. Actually, he was everyone's dad in the 80s. "The Cosby Show" was and still til this day the standard bearer for family-orientated television. Real quick on a personal note, he more accurately, resembles my favorite Uncle. Anyways, back to what I was saying. Back then, he was the number one hit sitcom and was everywhere in pop culture. If it wasn't Jello, it was the voice of "Fat Albert". He is one of my favorite actors and someone that still captures the audiences attendance especially if you have the pleasure of seeing him live. He's in Cooperstown, so there is no need to fret, he is one of a kind. Not to mention, he is a great dancer :) Just look at the openings credits of "The Cosby Show" to see that!

Damn right! George Michael is the 80s! "Wham!" and his reinvention of his look in the 80s had everyone loving this man and shaking there tail feather's even before there was even the term "tail feather". He made it acceptable to be sexy in his music and was able to give Prince a run for his money in that department back then. With curious style & magical music, the hits such as "Everything She Wants", "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Freedom", "Careless Whisper", "Faith" & "I Want Your Sex" are timeless classics. George is still around today and still selling out concerts Worldwide. Hey, and the man has great fashion style too! It's the true mark of an Icon.

Mr. T, the 80s icon that set off what was known as the era of "Tough". He looked mean, he talked mean, and he was a pop cultural phenomenon. He had his face all over Television with his hit show "The A-Team". He had cereal with his likeness, he had children's story books, action figures, was in battle with "Sly" Stallone in "Rocky III" as the unbeatable "Clubber Lang". He was merchandised very well including trading cards. He was just simply everywhere. Including being apart of the first two WWF Wrestlemania's in main event matches. For me, he was the ultimate tough guy and will always be apart of pop culture. If you disagree, then: "I Pity The Fool!".

﻿

Bo Jackson. Nuff' said! No seriously, I remember in The 80s that this man was the ultimate alpha-male. He was a two-sport superstar and had major endorsements such as Nike backing him and kids cartoons that highlighted him. Playing for The Kansas City Royals for Major League Baseball {MLB} and playing for The LA Raiders for The National Football League {NFL}, he was simply a pure athletic marvel. Some called him a freak of nature, I called him THE MAN. He was unstoppable. I recently saw ESPN's 30 For 30 Films 1 hour documentary on Bo, and to say that I wasn't blown away by his accomplishments and the presentation of the documentary, is an understatement. During the film, I had the pleasure to relive some of those moments that captured the imagination of those that were in awe of him. I remembered every huge moment from his career. Even the low points, which included the hip injury that ended his professional Football career in January 1991 that ultimately impaired his professional Baseball career. He did however, returned to Baseball but not at full capacity. But, the fact that he returned after this debilitatinginjury is what made him so great in the first place. Today, It was nice to see that Bo, who was drug free throughout his career having never taken a single steroid, is still alive and well today. You can see that looking at him now, that he looks like that Bo, that everyone remembered dominating two major sports at the same time on the highest performance professional level possible. He is still in great shape and you catch every so often when seeing him that glimmer of mega star that still shines through his smile and sharp eye. If you ever have the chance to see old film footage of the highlights of Bo's career in sports including some of the major endorsements that he did with Nike then please do so, you will be in awe once again or even if your not familiar with him. In the 80s, he was already a legend. Today, he still is just that. And, here, he is an 80s Icon. Because, "Bo Knows..."!

﻿

﻿

Pee-Wee Herman {aka Paul Reubens}was apart of mine & many of children in the early to late 80s childhood with his hit Saturday morning children's television show, "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" & his films, "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" and "Big Top Pee-Wee". He marketed & merchandised himself like no other phenomenon in pop culture back then. Hell, he even gave Laurence Fishburne his first big break as well with his children's show. Not to mention, he gave Phil Hartman a platform to showcase his comedic genius. Not long ago, Paul Reubens brought back the Pee-Wee character and has made a successful comeback. He is cool again, although, I don't think he ever lost his cool. He made me laugh and he made me forget my surroundings in the 80s. Not to mention he brought out the nerd in me. He has left a mark on me and for that and all his accomplishments in Entertainment throughout his career, he is truly an Icon.

Finally, Def Jam Records with Rick Rubin & shortly thereafter, Russell Simmons as the creators of my generations sounds. It is the most respected record label and after all these years, is the most prestigious label in the business. It all started in 1983. Producing some great legendary acts such as T La Rock & Jazzy Jay, Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, The Beastie Boys and so on. They are still very dominate now as they were back then. It's said that if your an aspiring artist or band, you haven't made it in the business until you have signed with Def Jam. They set the bar for Independent labels turned Major label. The 80s rocked behind Def Jam's style & flare. There business acumen created the blue print for how music labels should strive to obtain success. So, in closing, the final 80s icon for me, is "The House That Rick & Russell built". I hope that you enjoyed this look at the 80s Icons. Now, it's time for:

At my age, I was always curious as to why things were the way that they were for me and those around me. So I would take an interest in what was headline news and top stories in the 80s. At 6 am I would have to walk across a long stretch of ice either in front of my building or if there was none in the box, across the field to get a Toronto Sun newspaper for my mother. I was 7 years old. At 6 pm, it was news time. No matter what was on or what was going on with us, it was news time. I hated it, but I did absorb as I did usually. Here, I provide some of the top stories & headlines for the 80s. It defined the decade & some of these events effected my life in a indirect way. These headlines are in no specific order as I feel that they were all very important throughout the decade. So, here we go:

There you have it, It's all the headlines, that I remembered the most about the 1980s. As you can see, the greatest decade ever had it's fair share of news worthy even scandalous moments. I hope you enjoyed that. Now, it's onto something less serious like:

It wasn't until the winter of 1990 did I get my first gaming console. I mentioned it in a previous post here. It was my first & only gaming console, NES {Nintendo Entertainment System}. I, however, did keep my eye on the games that were cool at the time and the consoles that popped up in the 80s. Check out some of the gaming consoles, it's games & the super popular games that didn't need a console. Not to mention, I have included some of the old computer models that also had the capability of playing games on them as well. Have a look & enjoy!:

In my opinion the greatest {& only gaming console of interest to me}gaming console ever made. I am still trying to master it! :) I have already begun building back my original collection since I have the console from this past December. I have 4 cartridges - 5 games. The NES is found anywhere when you want to purchase it. I got mine for a very good price a few months ago and the joy that I have had since with it: priceless!

The Atari was not mine, but I had the chance to play it many times when it was super popular through the earlier part of the 1980s. I remember looking at the graphics and thinking: "This is the greatest thing, I have ever seen!" LOL. But, of course it's considered a dinosaur in the land of consoles. Still it spawned a number of classic video games. Can you guess what they are? Just look at the screen, Pac-Man was certainly one of them!

I have to admit, that when I first played this system, I thought that it was too technical for me. I did enjoy it but the games were foreign to me as I was already playing Nintendo at my boy's house non-stop. I went to my next boy's place to play Sega, and I had decided from then on that I wanted my own Nintendo. I eventually got it back then but I always wondered if I had given Sega more of a chance, if I would have been so in love with the Nintendo. I am glad that I chose the better for me system. Sega is something that is still around and you can get the original from anywhere pretty much if you keep your eyes open. The system brought my friends the joy and even a cool time with all of us. So for that, this gaming console will live on!

Okay, this was more like a computer but the system had the capability to play video games on it as well. This was the first time that I had experienced what a computer could do was by playing video games on it. Just like any graphics on these old 80s systems, I thought it was great and "totally" entertaining. A lot of these Commodore 64s are extinct but I know where to get a few of these if necessary, if it's just to own one for nostalgia purposes. If it works better than most of the technology of today, I am getting the hell out of here...what the heck! :)

I have to admit, I thought that the very first time that I saw this exact model of computer {Apple III}, I thought it looked like a small TV with a type writer attached to it, with off & on light switches. I did use it to mess around including playing a game or two. I just couldn't get into it. I couldn't get into their Macintosh brand of computers either. But, who knew, that years later they would be the industry leader in technology. Still they are apart of 80s gaming & computer system culture. It's one of the most identifiable brands on the planet. Steve Jobs along with his partners Steve Wozniak & Ronald Wayne knew that their vision would shake up the World. They were right.

You know what? I hated looking at this thing. I was never much of a technology guy. I did play some games on the IBM but I just had to stop because it wasn't for me like the other computers. Even today, I still don't play video games on my computer not even the free ones. But, it's all good, IBM was a major part of the 80s. Today, they are giving Apple a run for their money despite Apple being the leader in technology. It's still around today and still a big deal. Their longevity from 1911 until now is a true testament to their success.

&

Finally:

These great games are near and dear to my heart forever. I loved all these games in particular. God bless Coleco's Mini-Arcade Tabletop Games. Say that three times fast :) I know that there were other games but these games said to me: "These games are the 80s". They are legendary games and if the day comes that I can get all of them for myself, not only will it be the first time for ownership of them for me but they will be mine, all mine :) I played these games at my friends house and my favorite games were & still am, Donkey Kong & Pac-Man. Super Mario Bros. came from Donkey Kong. I guess that's why I enjoyed Donkey Kong so much. We were too young to be at the arcade so we had the mini-arcade table top games that you see above. It was like our own arcade room, lining them all up and playing them two or three at a time. The kid in me is coming out while I write here so I think it's time to continue with the kid in me and talk about my next topic here, also very near & dear to me:

This is a great part of my life that I will never, ever forget. The trading cards of the 80s made me excited to be apart of such a defining decade. I still see some of these great trading cards today. I will be making my way back to owning & re-owning these great sets. Take a look below and I hope that these jog your memories.

I use to buy all of these in Albion Mall {nka Albion Centre}, Flea markets, Convenience stores {Albion Mall Smoke & Gift Shop (where I would get most of my trading cards & other goodies from), Beckers, Max, etc.}. I would mix and match my packs as there were so many of these sets that I wanted to have complete sets of. I was thinking big from then :) Okay, enough talking. Time for my favorite trading cards thanks to the 1980s:

Garbage Pail Kids. My all-time favorite trading cards. In a related post coming soon, I will be sharing in greater detail my true love for these crazy cards. Thanks to Topps, as GPKs were always apart of my life, especially living in Rexdale and also bonding my friend Arman and I together. We were avid collectors of GPKs.

Going to Albion Mall's Smoke & Gift Shop, I would see these just sitting there along with all the other cards most times by it's self by the cash register and it just screamed out to me to take a handful of packs home with me. I kept everything from the cards {technically they were stickers on card backings} to the wrapper. I ate the gum while sifting through the cards and seeing which ones, I had and which ones I was getting for the first time. I still have some of mine, but they are not on their card backings anymore.

I may just through them out soon, but I think that I will only get rid of these used up ones once I can get a few boxes of the original series. Thankfully, with the age of the internet and good old fashion downtown Toronto card shops, I know I can buy a few boxes back whenever I want. In case, your not familiar with Garbage Pail Kids, you can just look at the image above for starters and see that they are a parody, a really good parody of the 80s toys, Cabbage Patch Kids.

You will notice that when seeing the cards, that the art work is incredible and flawless. The card backings are a bit of a novelty in itself as well, with either a check list for the series, a comic strip or piece of a puzzle. My favorite was just the sticker itself. Not only was the back drop of GPKs appeal being Cabbage Patch Kids, but they parodied pop culture, which was right up my alley as well.

Seek them out and you will find that they are still around today. Thank god! Long live Garbage Pail Kids!!!﻿

Fright Flicks. I am a huge Horror fan and a huge Horror movies enthusiast, so these were right up my "Elm street" :) I believe that I still have a few of these cards, again, it's not the same as having them fresh from the pack as I use to buy these sometimes with my Garbage Pail Kids {a rarity due to lack of funds}.

Topps back then were running the pop culture trading cards genre with great cards like these. I saw a great deal of the movies in which these cards parodied with funny captions and witty jokes. I remember the "Did It Ever Happen?" little stories at the back of each card. Some cards would have a piece of the big puzzle on the back.

I was in heaven when I would see these cards lined up in Albion Mall's Smoke & Gift Shop along with the other trading cards. I saw them close to the magazines section too, I mention this, because Fangoria Magazine was close by The Fright Flicks. I was literally, a kid in the candy store. I would try to get a few packs as I could afford them, but when I did buy them, I tried to get packs with "Freddy" on them as to me, he was the representation of Horror for me back in the 80s.

This is another awesome childhood trading card series from the {late} 80s, that I am going to scoop up a few boxes and keep in storage. Every Horror fan should have a few packs or even a few boxes for unsafe keeping muhahahahaha!!! {* Evil Laugh *}. ﻿

WWF Wrestling. These cards were next to my Garbage Pail Kids, being right up there as a must have. WWF & Topps scored big with these cool cards back in the 80s, and I was right there buying up as many packs as I could.

The superstar profile cards, the little Wrestling-like captions, Featuring WWF Wrestlemania III, TV borders around some of the cards and so on. They were simple and just fun to collect and trade. I may have some still in storage, as every trading card that I collected, it's out of it's original packs. I am going to buy a box or two for safe keeping as well.

I have a lot of collecting to do again with series like this one. I wish that the old Albion Mall's Smoke & Gift Shop was still around that I use to go to, so that I could just sit there for hours again and enjoy the cards section and magazines section and all the other cool things that they had there.

I use to spend a lot of time in there looking at everything and seeing which one or two packs of the WWF cards were going home with me at that moment. As a Wrestling fan back then, you could get these and be cooler than the kids that didn't have them. Wrestling was in it's boom period and they could do no wrong.

The NWA tried to have their own version of trading cards just after it became WCW but they were not like WWF's cards. Until this day, the 80sWWF Wrestlingtrading cards are still their most popular line of cards ever in the companies history. That's just my opinion. Then again, I am biased to anything from the 80s.

Batman. The movie trading cards from 1989, most of which I have the entire series still in my storage. I use to buy these up more than any other trading card when the movie came out. It was the blockbuster event of the summer of 89' and I was right there basking in the glory of my favorite comic book and it's characters.

In a soon to be posted note, I will be going into more detail about these cards in particular. I have a kinship with them for various reasons. But, in the meantime, I will share a few quick moments here before moving on. I remember buying these cards at, you guessed it, Albion Mall's Smoke & Gift Shop in Rexdale.

When I bought them there it was an experience like all my experiences going and buying the coolest and latest happening trading cards, but these turned into a different experience for me as a kid growing up. My experience soon changed for some reason, into a greater experience at the time, because now not only were there now these cards, but they were then split into two different trading cards producing them, Topps and then, O-Pee-Chee. So that meant, more work to be put in at home and outside in order to get some extra money so that I could collect both sets.

I always loved the Topps version better even though from what I remember, they were priced a bit higher. Topps had their slick glossy package wrapper and the gum even tasted better to me for some reason. Their cards were glossier and just had a nicer texture to me, it felt very high tech to me in comparison to the other Toppscards that I was use to collecting.

I remember one time, where I loved the cards so much and it's box that all the packs came in, that I just simply asked the man that ran the Comic shop around the corner from The Smoke & Gift Shop if I could have the empty box. He gave it to me no problem, and to this day I still have the box's cover lid. As a kid, that brought me so much happiness.

My goal was to fill up the empty box with brand new packs of mine and sell the box :) I was planning on continuing my hustles even with my beloved Batmanmovie trading cards! Man, what it is was like being a Batman fan in the 80s!﻿

Nintendo GamePacks. If I didn't say it already, thank God for Albion Mall's Smoke & Gift Shop! Now, the funny thing is, I remember from seeing outside in Malls and Television, this cool invention called Nintendo.

The fact that I was buying a pack or two of these cards years before actually owning my own NES was crazy to me now that I think about it. When I finally did get my NES I was able to use a tip or two from the cards that I kept from years before.

I finally understood what the hype was about in getting these cards because they did help me out when I was playing say Super Mario Bros. 1 or 2 for example. Those "Top Secret Tips!" helped me later on as mentioned, I should probably take a look at the ones that I have in storage, it's only a few cards and a sticker or two, but I remember that I saw them recently when I was searching for them.

I just recently posted a note in my "Never Forgotten" series here, about my love for the original Nintendo. Also, I had mentioned that I recently was thankful enough to re-purchase a system and have been slowly buying back my old games that I loved so much.

So, I think that these cards that I must have still, will come in handy again. In all honesty, I didn't buy a whole lot of these packs because as I said, I just didn't have the system in order to properly understand the usefulness of the cards.

Thanks again to Topps for giving me the added enjoyment of collecting another cool and actually very useful trading card series. ﻿

ALF. Topps were on top of their game in the 80s with every trading card series that they came out with. These were no exception. I remember that I bought a few of these cards just off of the strength of loving the Television series so much.

When I bought them from, NO, NOT, Albion Mall, but from a place {to some of you out-of-towners :)} called Mississauga, just outside of Toronto, I took one look at the cards, and was in awe of these cards because it was just like watching ALF and his family trapped in these stills in the form of cards.

It really just seemed weird to me. Then again, ALF was a weird character and show, but hey, weird is what I dig! I would come back to Albion Mall and look for them in my trusty Smoke & Gift Shop and buy a pack or two on a good day.

I really don't remember what ever happened to the pack or two that I bought with my "hard earned" money at the time, but I very recently, actually not long ago, saw a box set of these in a card shop in downtown Toronto. I think for the sheer fun of it, I may just grab a box for good ol' timessake :)

Wacky Packages. Man, Topps were on fire in the 80s with these outrageous trading card series. Dominant to be more precise. "Wacky Packs" as some of us would call it, were a real novelty card to me. They were like the cousin of Topps'Garbage Pail Kids.

They would parody every brand in sight at the time. In my very first official post of "Navarro's Notes" back in February of last year {2012, in case you didn't know LOL} I touched on these incredible cards. I would say that in my one and only favorite Albion Mall's Smoke & Gift Shop, I would buy a few packs, some of which, at least the stickers, I have kept, I could be wrong though.

I am certainly planning on buying a few series perhaps eventually {much like I plan to do with my GPKs} every series.

Again, I know where to buy these and obtain entire complete sets, which I am definitely looking forward too. Wacky Packages are still around today, I suggest going out and starting from the beginning, you will never regret it! ﻿

Return Of The Jedi. Notice the trend? Topps again scored with these ones. I remember these at a very earlier point in my collecting card hobby days. I was a fan of Star Wars so when I saw these cards I wanted to own as many as possible since they were from the movie that I loved so much.

You would get a lot of cards too in each pack, 10 cards. You would also get 1 sticker, and 1 stick of bubble gum. These babies, were simple and to the point. You could collect them all pretty much as fast as possible because you would get a great deal of cards in each pack and there was so many.

I remember not having a problem stacking decks of the cards because there was a lot. That's when you would have to break out the plastic mini card cases and then stack those until you can gather enough funds to buy a binder and some plastic card sleeve pages. Albion Mall, had these and the funny thing is that when I would walk into my beloved Smoke & Gift Shop in the mall, I would grab my GPKs, Fright Flicks & WWF Wrestling cards first before picking up a pack of The Return Of The Jedi cards. I guess you could say that I got particular in my early age.

I still have love for these cards and for the memories and nostalgia, I will buy a box set one of these days. I am sure it will be a great trip down memory lane for me. In closing, Topps' Donkey Kong cards, I use to see them all the time, I have only the slight memory now of purchasing at the most, two packs. Maybe even three, I was already into the cards that you saw above, but I always had my love for Donkey Kong since the game was so popular with me and The Super Mario Bros. were so well known with me as well before getting my NES.

In any event, when I would purchase a few packs, I still enjoyed them and have plans along with the cards mentioned above, to get a box of these as well. You guessed it, I am going to flood my house with box sets of all these great card sets, and giggle my ass off while I chew all the two-decade old bubble gum, sift through all the cards that I am going to hustle off as I did when I was a kid, and keep only the cool ones! That's right damn it! :)

Who am I kidding, I am going to keep the boxes and not open them ever, just pack them all up and let them sit in boxes and THEN, I will giggle my ass off like a villain. What the heck! LOL :)﻿

So there you go all. I love these trading cards and thankfully these original trading cards are not extinct they very much do exist. I had a blast collecting a little bit from each of these great series. You know my plans, I am going to buy them all in complete box sets. In all honesty, It's really to have a second chance to relieve my childhood in the 80s and just to relive those great feelings that I did when I would buy a handful of packs and just have a great time with my cards along with my fellow card collecting friends. It's great to see that in my older age, people like me still seek these sets out and collect or re-collect them all just so that they too can feel like a kid again. I don't blame them. Well, now, it's time to move onto my final topic which says it all about the greatest decade ever:

In this final part of this fun post, I just want to list out some of the other things that were representations of pop culture during my favorite decade. I also throw in a few extra songs and items that will make you smile and continue to reminisce. This is the final stop in my memory lane of the 1980s. If your reading this and say to yourself: "well he forgot to mention this, or forgot to talk about that". Guess what? This is the 80s honorable mentions section. Check it out:

* AllThe Great ThingsFrom The 80s *

* The 1980s Honorable ToysMentions *

Here is a quick look at the honorable mentions of the 80s toys & games. Take a gander everyone. Andenjoy!

Rubik's Cube. I had one In the 80s like everyone and there granny did back then. I recently got a Rubik's from a store. I haven't seen it since from whom I lent It to :) However, I matched up all the side many, many times. I always loved a challenge back then, so the idea of playing around with this thing and making everything perfect was really fun to me. I am going to get me a brand new Rubik's and throw the mutha against the wallIf I don't match It up on my first try. Such a perfectionist I am!

M.A.S.K. {The Toys}. These were for boys only! So there! *Sticks Tongue Out*

But, for real son, these toys were so cool. So cool, that I will only show you a picture of my favorite of the toy line: CONDOR w/ Brad {no nickname} Turner. Still have the figure in storage!

Rainbow Brite. She was cute, but that was about it. It was girly stuff to me :)

Fisher Price Record Player. I had this when I was a little DJ Navarro :) My love for music and big "chunes" came from this little toy with it's little records. No one could spin like me! Ask me to do the real thing today, I would say: "break out my Fisher Price instead! I bet I would whup your ass!". Somethings, are best left up to the pros.

Care Bears. They were more on the girly side, but so what! I liked them! I can admit It, but can you guys?

Cabbage Patch Kids. Very popular, not with me in the 80s though. It was a girl's toy, I preferred The Garbage Pail Kids Instead :) I use to beat up the ones that my Sister from a different mother {& father} had whenever I would visit. I made them tough with my Wrestling moves!

Strawberry Shortcake. Girly stuff. Ewww!!! But, I did respect that It was very popular. I did see the boom of this Strawberry chick, plus, I liked the Red colors. By the way, that cereal above, I liked It more than anything from this Strawberry broad. Why wouldn't I like It? It was sugar in a bowl!

Lite-Brite. Never had It, never wanted It. I was however fascinated with It's appeal to younger yutes. I wanted guns & knives, you know, the fun toys :)

Simon. I had one, just don't tell my mother back then, how It mysteriously wound up in our apartment {James, was a "Lickle Teef"}. Anyways, I did actually have some fun playing with the game. I did "Think Fast!" as the box says. However, I did toss It a few times when I screwed up. Friggin' technology!

Speak & Spell. I had this at one point during the 80s. I will just say that my Caveman days with technology started with this piece of machinery. I got so frustrated with it that I tried to spell "Fuck You" on it. Damn auto-correct!

Teddy Ruxpin. I enjoyed the cartoon, I never had the toy. That's all that I remember about this furry dude.

* The 1980s Honorable CartoonsMentions *

Check out the quick honorable mentions of the cartoons that I also remembered from the 80s. The images speak for it's self:

M.A.S.K. Yeah! This was my kind of cartoon. Law enforcement task force fighting with a criminal organization. Good Vs. Evil. Shoot, let me have Wikipedia tell you what this one was all about: "The main premise revolved around the fight between an underground task
force called M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) against a criminal
organization called V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem). After
its initial launch in 1985, the franchise spawned a variety of products,
including four series of action figures, an animated television series, video games and comics." I couldn't described this one any better.

Does that not sound cool?! It still does to me!

Jem. Jem & The Holograms, a cartoon about the music business. Brilliant! I watched the show a few times. I was more into my boy stuff. I would certainly watch this show now as I am trying to further get my feet wet in the music business. So, I would take a more adult approach to watching this show. Bring It On!

My Little Pony. Yeah, the last of the girly stuff that I had to endure :)

* The 1980s Honorable StandOutMentions *

Check the couple of things that I remember about the greatest decade ever.

Have a look everyone!:

Max Headroom. The 80s produced some very bizarre things especially in Entertainment. This was one of them. But, It is 80s pop culture and Max made his way into just about everything in the 80s. A fictional British artificial intelligence agent & "The World's first computer-generated TV host" portrayed by Matt Frewer. Known for his stuttering, distorted, electronically sampled voice {think auto-tune but In the 80s, perhaps this is where It started, I don't know}.

I mean really? Yes, REALLY! I thought this concept was Genius because In the 80s, you could see that pop culture and society was getting into this space of being on the brink of some major breakthrough with Technology {and often times the 80s was very political as well}.

Max Headroom was apart of the advancement in Technology especially being used for Entertainment value, for that time period. He became so popular that he even had his own TV series that went on for 2 seasons In the late 80s. I saw the show a bit and I saw Max everywhere from Video games, the Winter Olympics In 88' and so on. He was the 80s to me just as much as anything back then.

When you see or hear something long enough and finally check It out, curious minds check It out finally. I did, and I was fascinated.

Decades later, I still am.

British Knights. The Illest shoes of the 80s. No offense to Nike, Adidas, TROOP or any other shoe brand out in the 80s of course. Man, these shoes were hot with any outfit that I wore. I remember owning a pair or two throughout the 80s and 90s.

I liked them in black though, since I never liked wearing white shoes since they would get scuffed up and you had to do too much damn work on them to maintain them. The black shoes would go with anything you wore. I still wear black shoes with my outfits. Anyways, shoe talk aside, BKs were my kind of style. It was nice to see them make a comeback a few years ago too.

You know what, I am going to get me a pair and rock those babies! eBay here I come!

New Kids On The Block. I hated them. That's It! Okay, I will tell you why. The girls liked them so much and thought that they were so this and that. Us tough kids thought of NKOTB as anti-tough. So we use to make fun of them and the girls that liked them. Deep down inside of my tough little James, I did like some of their songs because of the catchy choruses.

I have to admit also, that I thought Donnie Wahlberg was the tougher of the group. That was only from how he conducted himself. He was In fact the most popular If I remember correctly amongst the girls in my old school living in Rexdale.

Whatever, I still didn't like them then. But, as I am older now, I see how Important they were to the 80s, boy bands & pop culture. It was nice to see them make a comeback back In 2007. Good for them, especially considering they will be receiving a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame this year.

Talk about "Hangin' Tough"!

Menudo. Formed In the late 70s and making their way through the 80s successfully. And, the World's first Introduction to Superstar, Ricky Martin. I have to say that I liked Menudo far more than I enjoyed New Kids On The Block.

Then again, they didn't remake NKOTB. They simply got back together not long ago. A new Menudo was just recently formed. But for me, no disrespect to the former band members & the new members of today, but no Ricky Martin means no band as far as I am concerned.

Just sayin'!

* The 1980s Honorable WrestlingMentions *

Here, I take a look at some of the 80s greatest Wrestlers that I was most entertained by during Wrestling's boom period. Have a read everyone, I hope that you enjoy:

Andre The Giant, still one of the main attractions in the 80s. I had the pleasure of seeing him live nearly a handful of times as a fan. From where I was sitting, he was that big and he was so chock full of physical & performance charisma. He was the other half of the Main eventof WWF Wrestlemania IIIVS. Hulk Hogan for The WWF World Title, Was apart of the Golden Era of Wrestling in the 1980s. Andre, was apart of Wrestlemanias, Major story lines in the WWF and was packing Shea Stadium in 1980with Hogan where the roles of heel & face were reversed. Andre was larger-than-life and a main reason that I was so consumed with Wrestling. He is truly missed today, no one will ever fill this giant of a man's shoes. Andre, was ailing at the time and was slowing down, but he could still entertain better than most that were at the top of their game. Andre will always be "The Eighth Wonder Of The World".

"The Hot Rod" 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper & "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, were the ultimate heels throughout the Wrestling World in particular during the boom of Wrestling during the expansion of Vince McMahon, Jr.'s WWF during the early-to-mid eighties. Both were featured stars at the top of the card and were the other half of the Main event of the first ever WWF Wrestlemania. Piper quickly became one of the most hated then turned one of the most popular stars of the 80s. "Piper's Pit" legendary & Orndorff's legendary turn on then-WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan on national television during a tag team match with King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd shocked everyone in Wrestling back in 1986. These two great legendary stars are still around today and have survived through many trials and tribulations. The Wrestling Gods broke the mold when these two legends took over in the 80s.

Arguably, the greatest World Champion ever. "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair is also one of the greatest performers of the 80s. Still around today and still burning with the passion of the business, he dominated the business on top of The NWA as NWA World Heavyweight Champion multiple times. He rivaled WWF's Hulk Hogan as dog in the business. Ric was the better Wrestler and certainly a one of the greatest draws of the decade. He kicked off the first real mega Pay-Per-View in 1983 for The NWA's Starrcade winning back The NWA World Title in a steel cage from The Legendary Harley Race, He headlined and sold out every arena as a singles competitor and as leader of the legendary faction The Four Horsemen with Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, & J.J. Dillon. His battles with everyone from Race, Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, The Road Warriors, Windham, Rock 'n' Roll Express' Ricky Morton and pretty much every star in the 80s from the NWA & all over the World. I enjoyed especially his matches with Wahoo McDaniel & trading back and forth The NWA World Championshipbelt with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. He was truly the 60 minute man taking his opponents to the limit and always pulled out the victory most time he stepped into the ring. In my opinion, Ric Flair will always be The greatest World Champion of the 1980s.

In my top 5 favorite Wrestlers of all-time, The legendary "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was the 80s in Wrestling for me more than anyone. He was the ultimate heel from the time that he entered the WWF in 1985 then in February 1986 capturing the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Tito Santana with crooked referee, Danny Davis making sure he didn't see that Savage hit Santana with a foreign object. Randy, held the championship for over a year defending it everywhere and all the time including on television where he was facing the man he would eventually drop it to, Ricky Steamboat in the infamous "ring bell to the throat angle". Randy was involved in what's considered the greatest Wrestlemania match ever to this day dropping the IC title to Steamboat in a near 20 minute mat classic. Then a year later wrestled, putting on a clinic in 4 matches capturing the vacant WWF World Championship at WWF Wrestlemania IV.

Then holding the title for a year until dropping it to his Mega-Power former partner Hulk Hogan the following year in a classic program and match at WWF Wrestlemania V. He became The King of the WWF and had classic matches with everyone in the company. He was the WWF's greatest performer and asset. With his lovely valet Elizabeth {real-life wife at the time}, he headlined many cards for WWF and was a true breakout mainstream star. Everyone including myself has done a "Macho Man" impersonation. Sadly, a few years ago, when Randy passed away, much like was the case when Michael Jackson passed away a few years before, I felt that I lost a huge piece of my childhood. His body of work though in and out of the ring will live forever in my heart and the hearts of many, many millions all over the World: "Oh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! dig it!!!!!!!"

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, was dripping in big gold all through the 1980s and one of my favorite Wrestling legends ever. Unfortunately, I have never had the pleasure of seeing him live, but I was enthralled in his incredible skills in the ring. He was silently dominated The WWF & The NWA during the 80s. His matches were legendary and still hold up today. As mentioned above, his mat classic in 1987 defeating Randy Savage for The WWF Intercontinentalstrap at WWF Wrestlemania III stole the show on a card that featured a giant Main event between Hogan & Andre.

Then after leaving the company he went back to The NWA in late, late 1988 and captured in a awesome match defeating Ric Flair, The NWA World Championship, in February 1989.

Years before his late 80s runs in both major companies, he was apart of an exciting NWA World Tag Team Championship team with Jay Youngblood. He captured The NWA U.S. Title a number of times, The NWA TV Title and so on. He was a exciting and a Main eventer that was the greatest performer to have never won The WWF World Championship. He was apart of the first NWA Starrcade & first WWF Wrestlemania.

"The Dragon" put on a clinic in his return to the ring for the first time in nearly 15 years at WWE Wrestlemania 25 the night after he would be inducted into The WWE Hall of Fame along with his long-time in ring rival, "Stonecold" Steve Austin. Who coincidentally was in the ring with Steamboat the night of his last match in which he had his career ending injury back in WCW in 1994. He has wrestled a few times afterwards and is apart of The WWE Legends program. Glad to see the fire of "The Dragon" will never go out.

The British Bulldogs: The Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith with their trusty bulldog Matilda, was my favorite tag team of the 80s & of all-time. They became WWF World Tag Team Champions at WWF Wrestlemania II defeating The Dream Team {Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake} in of night's legendary feature matches, shortly after they had entered the company as a top tag team. They were champs for nearly a year dropping it to the team below in heel faction of course with help from a certain megaphone and a crooked referee mentioned above, Danny Davis {The Dynamite Kid already had a severely injured back heading into the January 87' televised match that aired in February 1987, so they had to work around his injury in order to pull off the title switch}. They had fantastic entertaining matches with every team in the WWF at the time. They originated from Calgary's Stampede Wrestling & Japan before entering the WWF and were a top team throughout the 80s. The Dynamite Kid was one of my favorite Wrestlers of the 80s and still one of my favorites of all time. He was one of the more believable performers in the business, he was hard hitting, high-flying and super charismatic. Davey Boy was the charismatic powerhouse with a ton of agility as well. As a Wrestling fan, to me they were the real "British Invasion!"

The team that The Bulldogs lost their titles to. The Hart Foundation with manager Jimmy Hart. Another awesome team from Calgary's Stampede Wrestling. They became WWF World Tag Team Champions in January 1987 on Television. I thought that was huge news when I found out about them winning the titles as I was already living in Trinidad at the point. When I saw how they won, and later found out why they won, I was shocked, but not surprised. Bret Hart, had star written all over him from the moment I first saw him compete. I had the pleasure of seeing him Wrestle a few times in the 80s live. As well as Jim Neidhart. It was great seeing them both.

Bret went on to having a Hall of Famecareer. Matter of fact he was inducted into The WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.

Later returning to the company after a very famous "Montreal Incident" involving his boss at the time & a "Heartbreak Kid" in 1997 after 14 years with WWF at the time, and a some heartbreaking set backs including the death of his brother the late great, Owen Hart in May 1999 & himself suffering a stroke in June 2002. That long awaited on-air return came in 2010, he finally returned as apart of the roster/WWE Legends roster. "The Anvil" is still around having been one of the Wrestling businesses' most colorful characters as well as a 2-Time WWF World Tag Team Champion with Bret Hart. And, has his daughter that was carrying on the Neidhart name in Natalya Neidhart competing in WWE as well. Jimmy Hart {for Non-Wrestling fans, Jimmy & Bret are not related}also was inducted into The WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.

Truly, The Harts, are a Hall of Fame team.

* The 1980s Honorable TelevisionMentions *

The show that launched the careers of Alfonso Riberio {"Fresh Prince Of Belair"} & Ricky Schroder {"NYPD Blue", "Silver Spoons" was a show that I loved and dug the story line too. If you can get a hold of this show on DVD please do so. The show was straight forward and was super funny.

Arguably, the most popular show of the 80s. Who can forget the famous "Who Shot J.R.?". I saw the show a number of times when it was airing. I enjoyed the show and as a kid understood what was happening with the story lines. Larry Hagman was the real star of this legendary show. Unfortunately, he very recently passed away and I was saddened to hear of his passing but he left behind a legacy of entertainment from "Dallas" as "J.R. Ewing". If you ever get the chance to see this show again, just enjoy every moment of it, it's that great watching it again.

My favorite cooking show ever!!! "Wok With Yan" with it's star Stephen Yan which was a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Chinese cuisine cooking show that aired on CBC here in Canada.

Now, what made this show the show that kicked off my love of certain cooking shows that have aired the last decade or so, was the following: Stephens' funny one-liners, humorous cooking aprons that he would unveil and put on before the show got underway that always involved liners like:

Wok Goes up Must Come DownWok's New, Pussycat?Wokkey Night in CanadaStuck Between a Wok and a Hard PlaceRaiders of The Lost Wok

The great food that he cooked and the detail into his preparation of the meals and the great garnishments for the plates. The other thing that I remember from the top of my head, the segments where he went to a market in China or locally.

And finally, his joking while cooking, feeding the entire audience after eating with a guest from the crowd at his kitchen table. Thank you for the great laughs, food tips & memoriesStephen!. I also found out sometime ago, a very cool fact. And, that was, his show was being broadcasted in Trinidad at the same time as it was aired here, "Wok The Heck!"

My favorite all-time children's show ever. "Mr. Dressup" Ernie Coombs {passed away at age 73 in 2001} was a one-man show. He was incredible artist who could draw anything at his drafting table, his little moments at his "Tickle Trunk", His pals "Casey" & "Finnegan" in there tree house, his making of cool little snacks such as the one that I always remembered: Celery sticks with peanut butter in the groove of the celery with raisins placed along the top in a row. I will never ever forget! All these great elements made this great Canadian children's television show a smash hit when it started in the 60s right through my childhood up until 1996. It's a show that anywhere you are in the World, is something to seek out. It was on CBC Television. From there right to my heart as a kid growing up. Thank you Ernie for the fun times and moments.

Polka Dot Door, a hit Canadian children's show aired on TVO {Ontario}, was one of my favorite shows to watch in the 80s. Polkaroo & stuffed animal characters Humpty, Dumpty, Marigold and Bear, were my favorite parts of the show and really just the seller of the show. I remember a lot of this show and the trunk that some of there characters came out of. Story time mouse & clock were what I remember a great deal as well. You can go online and try to find some of those great moments captured on Canadiantelevision.

This show, I do remember liking but I don't remember a lot about it. I do remember loving the show but in the 80s some of these shows started to run together on me. Take for examples, "The Friendly Giant" & "Zoobilee Zoo". I remember watching both in the 80s, but unfortunately, do not remember enough about the shows to go into detail about them. Thankfully, because of the power of the Internet, I refreshed my memory about those shows and Romper Room. As I have said, I remember very little but know that as a kid growing up in the 80s, that I really enjoyed the three shows. That's good enough by most standards today. If there is a fondness for something from the 80s then It really goes a long way!

Jeff & Muffy, really stood out for me in this show. The unfortunate thing is that I remember the show but I don't remember much about it now as I am older except the fact that the names I mentioned stood out. I do however, remember that everything was big in this show. I guess it was because I was just small :) I loved the show and wanted to see it every chance I got. If your in the States and wondering why you might not have seen this show, is because, this show is a Canadian children's television show that was shown on TVO {Ontario}. Check it out somewhere online to see what made it so special for me. No pun intended :)

Finally, Mister Roger's Neighborhood, I saw it on television growing up in Rexdale. I loved the beginning and I was a wild kid out there in the street, and wouldn't you believe, watching Mister Rogers actually soothed me. Even, calmed me down. His demeanor was very calming & pleasant, changing the shoes was even cool to me for some reason. I guess this show showed me, that even the smallest things can make you happy as a kid.

* The 1980s Honorable MoviesMentions *

The 1980s produced some of the most memorable movies of all genres. Here, I share a few of those stand out movies that I remember the most. I hope you enjoy this little look at some of those 80s honorable movie mentions:

Some of the greatest films from the 80s were Horror movies. You can see below some of the great movies that I became to be huge fans of. "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Friday The 13Th", "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", "The Shining", "Sleep Away Camp", "Re-Animator" were among my favorite Horror movies from the 80s. Oh, how I can forget some of the classic "Halloween" movies & "The Horror Show" {House III}. Some of those movies, were the movies that birthed the start of two of it's biggest Horror Icons, "Freddy Krueger" & "Jason Voorhies". Throw in "Chucky" from 1988's "Child's Play" and you got a great night of fright!

"Who ya gonna call?"...Ghostbusters! Man, I loved these movies, the original movie in 1984 was my favorite of the two films though. I am aHorror & Monstermovie fan so this was right up my alley. I must admit that ghosts are not my favorite of the genre but this movie made me a fan with how Ivan Reitman used ghosts and poltergeists in the films. Great cast too: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson {later of 94' cult classic "The Crow" Starring The Late great, Brandon Lee}, Rick Moranis & Sigourney Weaver. Also, a great soundtrack theme song: Ray Parker, Jr.'s "Ghostbusters". There was some lines that stood out for me in Ghostbusters like Murray's: "Mother pus bucket!", "I don't have to take this abuse from you, I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me." & Dana Barrett:
That's the bedroom, but nothing ever happened in there.
Dr. Peter Venkman:
What a crime." Own these movies! I can't wait to see them again, it's a call I am going to make: GHOSTBUSTERS!

As a huge Monster movie fan, I fell in love with The Monster Squad immediately. This movie is a cult classic and still holds up as a very entertaining film. The kids in this movie, did a masterful job in their roles. What can be said about a movie where unstoppable moviemonsters go against a bunch of young kids? It's really a fun movie. I have seen it so many times that I can almost tell you nearly every scene. It was cool to see a 80s version of what these classic movie monsters would look like. I remember taping this onto a VHS video tape and wear it out watching It so many times. If you haven't seen it yet, then you will do the same. Check it out and enjoy!﻿

﻿These movies are some of my favorites of the 80s. Michael J. Fox & Jason Bateman did solid jobs playing the "Wolf" character. I have to say though, Fox really set the bar for this role. He did a masterful job and carried the first movie. Jason Bateman whose made a tremendous comeback over the last few years with his tremendous career, did a great job as well. He held his own in the sequel of the Wolf movies. I am a monster fan so the story that combines a Wolf-man like character is always going to catch my eye. Check these great films out from the greatest decade!

Come on now! The Goonies was another hit from Steven Spielberg, that will always be a cult film. The 80s is the proud owner of this adventurous romp. I have seen this movie many times, not lately though, it's better for me to watch movies of this caliber after much time has passed. It's like a fine wine, it gets better with age. This movie is the 80s to me. If you love to have a good laugh and want to get away from all the high tech, boisterous movies of today, then pop in the VHS or DVD and have a great time. Look for "Chunk" he is the most entertaining of the bunch of kids :)

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Never saw it. Yes, I never saw it. I saw pieces of it and of course, I love the soundtrack lead song of the same name. I have this on my list along with Risky Business to watch finally in full. Kevin Bacon, from what I saw in those little pieces of scenes that I have seen, was truly the star. Since then, Hollywood has put out a remake film. I am not a big fan at all of remakes, so I know I wouldn't be in a hurry to see the remake, I have to see the original first. I am open minded, so I will look at both either way so that I know that my dislike of remakes is affirmed and my love for the 80s is confirmed with this much talked about classic.﻿

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I have to be honest, I have never seen Risky Business in it's entirety. I have seen bits and pieces over the years since it was first released. Of course, the scene that everyone remembers was a young Tom Cruise in his shades, shirt & tie with no pants on sliding across the floor in his socks and dancing. I have seen like many of you have, people that dressed up as him in that scene for Halloween. Including the movie "Never Been Kissed" where Drew Barrymore's brother in the movie, David Arquette comes to a costume party dressed as Tom Cruise from that famous scene. I have already made it a point to get this movie and sit down and finally watch it along with Footloose. I can't wait to see what everyone has raved about it since it was released in the 80s.﻿

I loved this movie! Howard The Duck, totally awesome movie! For some reason, I associated this movie with the 80s movie "Garbage Pail Kids". I guess it was the similarities in the creation of characters. Regardless, if you get a chance to see this movie if you haven't seen it, then take a look at it. If you were a fan of the comic book, then you will especially love this movie. Now, in all honesty, it was considered one of the worst films of all time, but to hell with that, I have seen worse, and this movie was an Oscar winner compared to the others that I have seen. Not to mention, there was a nice little cast too. The likes of Lea Thompson, Tim Robbins, Jeffery Jones held up the movie. Gloria Katz and George Lucas were among the producers of the movie. From what I found, they broke even with the movie. I am sure that they made there profit in tape sales and other streams of revenue. I remember seeing this film and saying this movie was pretty cool. Seek it out and watch it for yourself, suspend all disbelief as you would in watching a show or movie, you just might likeit! ﻿

May he rest in peace, Patrick Swayze and his co-star Jennifer Grey were magic on the screen. "{I've had}The Time of my life" is still a classic song. When you hear that song, you think of "Dirty Dancing". This classic film still stands the true test of time. I am a "Saturday Night Fever" fan, so this movie is right up there if just a notch beneath that film but still holds up right there near the top of my personal list as one of the greatest dance/love story films up there. I saw it again not too long ago, and now that song is etched in my brain. It's all good though, I still have the "time of my life" when I hear it, and see this hot movie.

Sho Kosugi. Thank god for him. My childhood was only complete with this man at the top of Ninjamovies boom in the 80s. What a performer and a legit bad ass not only on screen but in real life. I recently saw him again in 2009's "Ninja Assassin" playing a villain and he looked amazing! His films featured a lot of action, drama & suspense but the thing I always looked for especially in my top favorite movies of all-time, "Revenge Of The Ninja", was him ready for battle in the Shinobi shozoku traditional Ninja outfit. When he fought with his arsenal of weapons against the enemy especially the sword fights, it was exciting! Seek him out, you will see that Sho is still around doing his thing and to this day dazzling the eyes of the great lovers of Japanese Ninja films. In my opinion, Sho is the biggest star ever produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus's Cannon Films. Glad to see his son Kane Kosugi who got his big break in "Revenge Of The Ninja" still doing great. Sho, if you ever see this, thank you for the awe-inspiring action in your films & some of the greatest on-screen memories of my childhood.

One of my all-time favorite movies ever, Ninja III: The Domination is still very much entertaining to me. It tied together a few of my favorite people in Hollywood & topics. Exorcism, Sho Kosugi & The art of The Ninja. Lucinda Dickey acted very well in this flick, she went from being a Telephone pollworker/aerobics instructor to being a possessed by a shot-down-by-the-police Ninja who practiced black magic & Sho with one eye has to make things right. Only in the 80s! Find this great movie and be thoroughly entertained. It's nothing short of another success for Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus's Cannon Films.

American Ninja aside for the legendary Ninja80s movies from Sho Kosugi was one of my top favorite movies of that time period and still to this day holds up in my mind as entertaining. It spawned a few sequels after but nothing like most movies was anything close to being as good as the first one. Michael Dudikoff, Steve James & Judie Aronson were awesome in this movie. Michael especially since he was the star, great choice, thanks to Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus's Cannon Films. I highly recommend seeing this action packed film if you haven't already.

E.T. This loveable character warmed everyone's heart and felt close to this extra-terrestrial. The World was introduced to a very young, Drew Barrymore. I loved the movie and all that it did before & afterwards with the incredible marketing and merchandising. I think even then I must have had an action or two of E.T. He was cute and funny to watch. The loveable guy also did monster numbers with Steven Spielberg at the helm. That was the side of the business I still paid attention to even though I wasn't sure what box office numbers were at my age. :)

Okay, so pretty much anyone that grew up in the 80s or was even born in the 80s, saw a John Hughes film. They were simple and entertaining. There wasn't a bunch of crazy stunts or complicated stories in his movies. You see below a collage of some of his classic movies. Classic movies, despite the unfortunate passing of John, his movies & legacy as a great film maker will always live on & be apart of The 1980sPop culture. Thank you John, you left a lasting impression on this fan.

The last thing that I remember about the 80s was this great true storymovie called "Mask". Starring Eric Stoltz, Cher & Sam Elliott from 1985. I remember seeing this film and thinking that the story was incredible from the stand point that not only was it a true story but it showed a kids courage to try to fit into regular every day teenage life despite his rare bone disorder. His mother & his families' love for him and the willingness to protect him from being hurt at any cost necessary. It's a great story with a lot to learn from those watching it. If you haven't seen it yet you have to seek it out and sit down and watch it with someone that you love. It showed me even back then at being a little over six years old that you should never treat anybody like they are beneath you no matter what there appearance is or for whatever reason that everyone else that knows no better, would treat someone badly. Below you can see I posted a few pictures from the People Weekly Magazine from that time period covering the true life story behind the movie that had the World falling in love with Rocky Dennis. Have a look:

* The 1980s Honorable Music Mentions *

Now, do not think that I forgot some of the other classic songs from my favorite decade. They are as well, some of my favorite songs ever. I hope that you enjoy and rock out to some of the greatest songs evermade!:

& * The Final Word *

Like the image says, "I miss you, 80s!". I truly do and while there is many various forms in Pop Culture that try to or remind me of the 80sit will never be duplicated. Whenever you want to have a condensed look at a very memorable 12 month period, please don't hesitate to come here. And, a few more things:

About Me

Welcome everyone to The official "Navarro's Notes" of yours truly, James Navarro.
I am The Founder & Owner Of JN Enterprises which is the parent company of TFE {The Franchise Entertainment}. Here you will find some of the notes that come across my desk as I take my company to the heights of success.
So I will be sharing in the meantime some of the interesting things that I have noticed, jotted down in my notes and with an occasional opinion or two thrown in there with a mix of an article as well.
Can't forget, I may rant in the form of dropping a bit of insight into my world and the way that I view how business in Entertainment, Sports & everything in general should be done as I see it.
Hope you enjoy!
JN - TFE